Tommy Holmes

Infobox MLB retired
name=Tommy Holmes
position=Outfielder


bats=Left
throws=Left
birthdate=birth date|1917|3|29
Brooklyn, New York
deathdate=death date and age|2008|4|14|1917|3|29
Boca Raton, Florida
debutdate=April 14
debutyear=by|1942
debutteam=Boston Braves
finaldate=September 28
finalyear=by|1952
finalteam=Brooklyn Dodgers
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.302
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=1,507
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=581
teams=As Player
* Boston Braves (by|1942-by|1951)
* Brooklyn Dodgers (by|1952)As Manager
* Boston Braves (by|1951-by|1952)
highlights=
* 2x All-Star selection (1945, 1948)

Thomas Francis Holmes (March 29 1917 — April 14 2008) was an American right and center fielder and manager in Major League Baseball who played nearly his entire career for the Boston Braves. He batted over .300 every year from 1944 through 1948, peaking with a .352 mark in by|1945 when he finished second in the National League batting race and was runner-up for the NL's Most Valuable Player Award, and retired with a career .302 average.

Holmes was born in Brooklyn, New York. One of the most popular players in the twilight years of the Boston Braves, "Kelly" Holmes finished second in MVP voting in the National League in 1945, when he had led the NL in hits (224), home runs (28) and doubles (47). That season, Holmes set a modern NL record that stood for 33 years by hitting safely in 37 consecutive games from June 6 through July 8 (Bill Dahlen and Willie Keeler had longer streaks in the 1890s). His mark was broken in by|1978 by Pete Rose.

Holmes, who batted and threw left-handed, signed his first professional contract with the New York Yankees, but could not break into their talent-laden outfield of Joe DiMaggio, Tommy Henrich and Charlie Keller. After three over-.300 seasons with the Yanks' top farm team, the Newark Bears, he was traded to the Braves in February 1942. Given a regular major league job, Holmes batted over .300 for five consecutive seasons (1944-48). In by|1948, he hit .325 in 139 games to help lead Boston to the NL pennant.

After the by|1950 season, Holmes, 33, was named player-manager of the team's Class A Hartford farm club. On June 19, by|1951, with the big-league Braves floundering in fifth place under manager Billy Southworth, Holmes was called back to Boston to manage his old team. He also remained on the active roster as a pinch hitter. It was hoped he could arouse the club, and bring fans back to Braves Field. But the team barely posted a winning record (48-47) under Holmes, and when they lost 22 of their first 35 games in by|1952, Holmes was fired on May 31 and replaced by Charlie Grimm. The Braves finished seventh, drew only 281,000 fans, and left Boston for Milwaukee the following spring.

Holmes finished the 1952 season as a pinch hitter for the Brooklyn Dodgers, then managed in the Braves' and Brooklyn farm systems from 1953-57. He retired with a .302 lifetime batting average with 88 home runs in his 1,320-game, 11-year major league career, with a managing record of 61-69 (.469). He returned to the game in 1973 as director of amateur baseball relations for the New York Mets, a post he held for three decades until he retired at age 86.

In an article in 1976 in "Esquire" magazine, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Because of space limitations, the Irish team, including Holmes as right fielder, was omitted.

Holmes died of natural causes at the age of 91 at an assisted living facility in Boca Raton, Florida.

External links

*baseball-reference|id=h/holmeto01
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Tommy_Holmes_1917 BaseballLibrary] - profile and career highlights
* [http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/holmeto01.php The Baseball Page]