By the time dusk hits tonight, major league baseball will commence its midsummer sabbatical for the events surrounding the All-Star Game. Technically, the shindig’s already begun, with the Futures Game taking place at suburban Atlanta’s steamy Truist Field as this is being composed. And as a coda to a day of looking ahead before we return to honoring the greatest players of the last three and one-half months, and perhaps to fill ESPN’s void of no Sunday night game and necessity to corner the market on professional sports leagues’ drafts, tonight MLB’s version will fill the airwavrs.
On the pecking order of connectivity and general familarity, the MLB draft ranks a far distant fifth among major pro sprots leagues, narrowly trailing the NHL and at this point well behind the WNBA. But at least tonight there will be at least one immediately recogizable surname with a legitimate chance to make history, and that might be the first of many occasions in upcoming years to do so.
It’s not that uncommon for former MLB players to have offspring capable of being drafted; ofttimes, that’s done simply to capitalize on the potential clickbaitability. It is far less common for said player to have two sons who are that worthy. And it’s downright unprecedented for those two to potentially both be the number one picks in the whole world.
As THE ATHLETIC’s Cody Stavenhagen wrote late last week:
In the leadup to Sunday’s MLB Draft, many pundits will note the Holliday family’s deep baseball ties. Matt Holliday played 15 years in the major leagues and made seven All-Star games. His oldest son, Jackson, was drafted first overall three years ago and is now the second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles.
Now, Ethan Holliday is next in line for a baseball dynasty forged under the endless skies of Oklahoma. He is a gifted 6-foot-4 shortstop with tremendous raw power from the left side. He has a chance to go to the Washington Nationals first overall, and if he doesn’t go there, draft experts predict he will go fourth to the Colorado Rockies, the same organization that drafted his father.
And as BLEACHER REPORT’s Adam Wells explained yesterday, that kind of potential tug-of-war with adds yet another layer of intrigue to tonight’s festivities:
Per The Athletic’s Keith Law, the Rockies would consider an over-slot bonus for Holliday if they take him with the No. 4 overall pick.
Slot value for the fourth pick is $8.77 million. The Rockies’ $15.723 million bonus pool is the fifth-most in this year’s draft.
Even if Holliday signs for slot value, it would be the richest bonus ever given to a high school player in draft history. The current record is $8.19 million by…- Jackson.
So Ethan might wind up in the same megalopolis as his brother, playing for a team a mere five full seasons removed from its only world title that just jettisoned its general and field managers– or potentially playing on the same team that his dad helped propel to its only World Series appearance in its three-decade-plus-history. Both of whom are faring a LOT worse today than they once did. That could sure make an intriguing Thanksgiving.
But as Stavenhagen reminded, those who can participate with qualification at such a family debate goes beyond merely three deep:
Some may mention that the line doesn’t actually start with Matt, Jackson, and Ethan. Tom Holliday — Matt’s father and Jackson’s and Ethan’s grandfather — was a longtime Division I baseball coach, including a seven-year run as the coach at Oklahoma State. His brother, Dave, is a veteran scout for the Philadelphia Phillies. Matt’s brother, Josh, is now the coach at OSU.
In fact, should the Nats indeed select Ethan it would be only the second time that brothers have both been drafted number one in their sport. You may know those other siblings. 
It’s as heartland-in-America a family story as we’ve seen anywhere in any sport. Indeed, not only are the Hollidays talented, they’re also grounded. The brothers are the subject of a fascinating episode of the SPORTS SPECTRUM podcast, where they discussed their baseball journey, pressure being a privilege, having a competitive mindset, tuning out the noise, living for Jesus, and Jackson’s wedding with his wife, Chloe.
Give it a watch. It is Sunday, after all.
Courage…