NEWS

Josh is now playing for the Sarasota Reds in the Cincinnati Reds system.  You can see game reports and updates on two different websites:  the MiLB site and the actual team's site

 2004 NEWS

On August 30^th, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN Insider interviewed Josh Holden at the conclusion of the Gulf Coast Rookie League season.  It seems that Josh is putting pressure both on the Cincinnati Reds AND the U.S. Army as a result of his standout play in Florida this summer.

A 2003 graduate of West Point, and 1999 graduate of Hudson HS in Ohio, Josh was fulfilling his commitment to the military as a condition to his West Point scholarship.  Already a year into this commitment, Josh was stationed in Oklahoma when he made a spontaneous decision to go to an open tryout for the Cincinnati Reds.

His performance sent authorities throughout the Reds organization and the Army scurrying for solutions.

Holden went out and impressed scouts with his physical condition (6’1”, 215 lbs., 4%) body fat and then went out and showed that he could run . . . . we mean REALLY run . . . . correction, FLY.  Turning in a blazing 6.48 60 yard run and sub 4.0 runs down to first base, all that was left was to show the scouts that he could throw and hit . . . . which of course he did.

Josh was a three sport standout in high school at Hudson, achieving All-Ohio honors in both football and baseball.  In football he was a 2000 yard rusher his senior year and in baseball he was a possible draft pick of the New York Yankees.  George Steinbrenner himself called Josh about his decision. Josh told George that he believed that attending West Point would be the wiser decision for him.  George actually told Josh that he was right and agreed that West Point was the right place to go, wishing him the best of luck.

Now, five years later, the decision is no longer in his hands. Holden had initially planned to attend Army Ranger training school in August, but was permitted a leave of absence to take a flier on baseball once the scouts saw him at the tryout.  Now the Army must decide whether it is in the best interests of everyone - the country, the Army, and Josh - if he is shipped out to join the Army's first calvary division in Iraq or to the Florida Instructional League this fall with the Reds.  His West Point roommate and former teammate, Mike Lennox is already stationed in Baghad.  

But in the meantime, Josh is back at Fort Hood in Texas, waiting to hear. 

The Reds are actively working out an arrangement with the Army that will allow Holden to fulfill his military obligation and continue to play baseball.  Some of those options include the Reds "buying out" Josh's obligation to the Military - which Josh has publicly discouraged them doing, National Guard service or a spot in the Army’s World Class Athlete Program, which applies primarily to Olympic athletes, according to the Reds scout that discovered Holden, Brian Wilson.  Dan Browne, a marathon runner from Utah who attended West Point, used that route to take part in the recent Summer Olympics in Athens.  

In typical Holden humbleness, he says “I’d love to have the opportunity to play for the Reds, and in a best-case scenario I wouldn’t have to go. But at West Point, you learn that when you make a commitment, you have to stick to it.  If they tell me I have to go, I’m not going to fight it.”

But the REDS WILL.  You know a legend is born when the nicknames start flying.  Josh has always been known for unique actions that will either catch you off guard and make you smile, or earn your respect.  When he showed up at the Reds clubhouse in Sarasota for the first time he was in full military battle dress uniform . . . earning him the name "Rambo".  But then he started earning names with his play on the field.

First it was "Roy Hobbs", straight out of the story books, a kid with God-given abilities that have been put on hold for a year and a physique honed by football and the military.  When a kid from the left side of the plate comes out SWINGING at a .400 clip in the middle of a season already in progress . . . he definitely is "The Natural".  Add that name to his interest in his choosing to get trained as an Army Ranger and you think of another outstanding young man who combined the military with football, Pat TIllman, Jr.

But when Reds general manager Dan O'Brien (formerly of the Indians and Rangers) came to see if he was for real, he said the name "Kenny Lofton".  Lofton made his name in college at the U. of Arizona playing basketball.  However, his speed and athleticism helped him pick up the game quickly and become a star with the Cleveland Indians.  It's a story Josh is well aware of since he is from the Cleveland area.

And why does the Caucasian Holden get compared to Kenny Lofton?  Because of his 4% body fat, sub 4.0 speed down to first base, his incredible fielding and is base stealing . . .let alone his college story.  Holden was better known for leading Army's football team in rushing his last two years.

“In my opinion, if this kid was going through college and he was out on the free market, they’d be talking about him as a first-round pick, no question,” said Reds scout Wilson.   “He has those kind of tools and ability.”

n May, Wilson followed up on a tip and invited Holden to a pre-draft tryout camp in Tulsa.  Holden ran the 60-yard dash in 6.48 seconds – blazing fast – and showed enough promise with his bat and glove for the Reds to offer him a contract on the spot.  When Holden agreed to sign two months later, it was for a $1,000 bonus.

His time in Sarasota turned out to be much more than that.  He led the Gulf Coast League Reds team in hitting, stole 10 bases and had a .420 on-base percentage and batted .348.

He has very good athletic skills,” said Dean Taylor, Cincinnati’s assistant general manager.  “Because he’s played at the collegiate level, he also has the instincts you look for.  He can run and he’s shown some promise at the plate.  He’s the type of player we’d like to have in the organization.”

While the Reds assess their options, Holden is also receiving assistance from former major-league ballplayer Jeff Frye.  Frye, now a player agent, became aware of Holden’s situation earlier this summer and has been working the phones and providing advice to Holden free of charge.

“It’s like a phenomenon,” Frye said.  “Here’s a kid out of the military who shows up in his fatigues, he hasn’t played baseball in a year, and he runs like the wind and hits .350.  From day one I thought, ‘This is incredible.  I’m going to do whatever I can to help this kid, because this could be a once in a lifetime story.”

What does Josh say about all this?  "Give the glory to God" , he said over the phone the night the story came out.   "This is about Him."   Yes, it is . . . about what God has been steadily building in his life for many years now. That's why we're confident that this story is just beginning.