[Baltimore Sun] Orioles’ Jackson Holliday drinks ‘Bird Bath Water’ to celebrate playoff clinch
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NEW YORK — Jackson Holliday has accomplished a lot before turning 21 years old. Add clinching an MLB postseason berth to that list.
The Orioles on Tuesday night defeated the New York Yankees, 5-3, and got some help from the Miami Marlins to secure a spot in the playoffs for the second straight season. It’s the first time Baltimore will play in October in consecutive years since 1996-1997.
Of course, that was cause for celebration in the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium. Just minutes after the Orioles secured their win over the American League East-leading Yankees, the Marlins beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-1, dropping Baltimore’s magic number to zero.
As the Orioles celebrated in New York, the beer and champagne were flowing, but not for one member of the team. Holliday, at just 20 years old, is not legally allowed to drink alcohol.
Instead, the Orioles gave the young infielder “Bird Bath Water,” a nod to the “Bird Bath Splash Zone” in Section 86 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in which “Mr. Splash” hoses down fans. The bottle reads: “0.0% alcohol for Orioles under 21.”
Jackson Holliday’s “Bird Bath Water” during the Orioles’ clinch celebration.
The bottle reads: “0.0% alcohol for Orioles under 21.” pic.twitter.com/4mfkNB0YT3
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) September 25, 2024
Holliday didn’t drink out of the bottle. He guessed it was sparkling water in the bottle, but he then wondered if it was actually sparkling cider.
“Honestly, I have no idea,” Holliday said with a chuckle.
That was just part of the package the Orioles laid out for their young teammate. In a black bird bath was a “Baby’s First Clinchmas 2024” sign, as well as a toddler-sized No. 7 Holliday jersey and a baby bottle.
That didn’t stop Holliday from getting doused as the team celebrated a raucous baseball tradition. Fellow rookie Heston Kjerstad, himself only 25 years old, dumped a beer on Holliday while screaming: “Don’t drink it!”
Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday had a nice surprise waiting for him in the clubhouse. (Jim McIsaac/Getty)
This isn’t Holliday’s first rodeo with being too young to partake in all the festivities during a clubhouse celebration. Last season, the Norfolk Tides won the Triple-A National Championship, and Holliday also had his own special bottle for that, too.
“We won the championship in Norfolk, but this is a lot different,” he said. “To do it in the big leagues against the Yankees and to finish off what we set out to do, it’s really cool. I think we’re a long way from being over.”
Next season could be a different story, though. Holliday turns 21 on Dec. 4 and is expected to be part of the opening day lineup for the first time in his Orioles career. If he’s a big part of the next playoff-bound club, the celebration will be that much sweeter.
“Next year, we’ll get after it,” Holliday said with a look of excitement in his eyes.
The 2022 No. 1 overall draft pick and former top prospect in baseball has had an up-and-down first season in the major leagues. He made his highly anticipated debut in Boston on April 10 but struggled mightily at the plate, recording just two hits in 36 plate appearances before getting sent back down to Norfolk at the end of the month.
Then, in his return to the Orioles on July 31, he crushed a grand slam to right field at Camden Yards for his first major league homer. He later became the youngest player in American League history to homer in three straight games, then the second-youngest player in Orioles history — behind only Brooks Robinson — to record a four-hit game.
Entering Tuesday, Holliday is batting .169 with a .517 OPS in 56 games this season, both well below league average. He’s also struggled at times in the field, including a misplayed ground ball at a crucial moment in Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the red-hot Detroit Tigers in 10 innings. As a result, his playing time has dwindled, with veterans such as Austin Slater, Emmanuel Rivera and Liván Soto getting more looks down the stretch. The recent returns of All-Star Jordan Westburg and former Gold Glove Award winner Ramón Urías make it even tougher to get into the lineup heading into October.
Holliday drew a connection between the Orioles’ challenging second half and the underwhelming start to his big league career. But, on this night, he wasn’t focused on the negatives of his season, only the optimism of what’s to come.
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“It kind of ties everything together, the season we’ve had, the season I’ve had, honestly,” he said. “The ups and downs, all the injuries we’ve battled through, it’s pretty special just to be here.”
Holliday isn’t the normal 20-year-old. He grew up in big league clubhouses as the son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday. That experience gives him the perspective that days like Tuesday are the exception. He was six years away from being born the last time the Orioles achieved what they did Tuesday.
But he knows what the Orioles have with one of baseball’s best young cores, and he believes there are more days like Tuesday in his future — ones where he can throw a few beers back, too.
“This is my goal,” he said. “This is what I want to set out to do my entire career. I think I’m in the best position possible to do so with this team.”
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