NORFOLK — Late Tuesday afternoon, Buck Britton knew a secret that would soon be the talk of baseball.
But the Norfolk Tides manager had to wait a while to share it, and he still had to figure out how.
Around 6 p.m., shortly before Tuesday’s 6:35 p.m. game against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at Harbor Park, Britton received a call from Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias.
It was time to send the kid.
Elias told Britton the parent club was ready to summon infielder Jackson Holliday, the top overall prospect in baseball.
Holliday, though, was already in Norfolk’s lineup. Britton knew he couldn’t say anything to him until after the game.
“I had to sit on it,” Britton said Wednesday. “Honestly, when it happens that close to game time, you get so wrapped up in the game that you kind of forget about it. And then you walk back in the locker room and you go, ‘Oh, crap. What am I going to do?’ ”
He didn’t mean he was worried about how the Tides would replace the 20-year-old Holliday’s production. The skipper wanted to be sure to capture the moment on hidden camera.
The Orioles sent the lefty-swinging Holliday, the son of former All-Star Matt Holliday, to Norfolk after a successful stint in the Grapefruit League with instructions to sharpen his skills as a second baseman and improve his performance against left-handed pitching. He did both.
Overall, he hit .333 with two home runs and nine RBIs in 10 games. He went 4 for 10 with two doubles and no strikeouts against lefties while playing what Britton, a former infielder, called “a really good second base.”
By Wednesday, Holliday was in the Orioles’ lineup in Boston, scheduled to hit ninth in a 7:10 p.m. game. Lockering near him at Fenway Park were former top overall prospects and former Norfolk players Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, the organization’s most elite talent at a glance.
We now interrupt The Show for Holliday programming.
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles)
Holliday sped through four levels of the minors last season after being selected first overall in the 2022 draft out of Stillwater (Oklahoma) High School, finishing his first full year at Norfolk.
Britton couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that this time last year, Holliday was at low Class A Delmarva. Two years ago, he was still in high school.
“Pretty incredible,” Britton said. “What an unbelievable talent. He produced everywhere he went, man. He earned the right to get up there when he did.”
After Holliday’s 1-for-4 night against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Britton called him into his office to reveal the secret that only a tiny handful of people in the organization knew. Britton had finally come up with a plan — sort of.
“I had no idea how I was going to do it,” Britton said. “I just knew that I needed to have my iPad set up to record it, hidden out of view. And I was just praying that I hit record and that it wasn’t blurry when the thing was going off because you can’t tell Jackson, ‘Hey, come back. Let’s redo.’ ”
The result was a surreptitious video that was going on 2 million views on X by Wednesday afternoon. In it, Britton reminds Holliday that he’d grown up with his dad, putting his name on major league pass lists, and that it was about to be his turn to reciprocate.
“Call your dad,” Britton told him.
“Now it’s time for him to ask permission to be on Jackson Holliday’s pass list because you’re going to the big leagues.”
“Awesome,” Holliday said quietly.
“Hell yeah,” Britton added.
Call your dad 🧡
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles)
The Ripken family, considered Orioles royalty, gave permission for Holliday to wear patriarch and former manager Cal Ripken Sr.’s No. 7, a subtle indication that the team might intend to keep Holliday for a while. He’s not, in other words, wearing No. 84, like a minor leaguer in a spring training game.
Some observers were surprised to see Holliday take the final step after just 10 games in Triple-A, but it made sense to Britton.
“I think it was just time, they felt, that they needed the best 26 men they could get, and he was one of them,” Britton said. “I think that’s what made the decision for them.”
David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.
