Wong working with Holliday on the art of turning the double play

SARASOTA, Fla. – Playing second base isn’t dumping Jackson Holliday in unfamiliar territory. He’s been there and done it: 25 starts as a professional, 20 last year scattered among four affiliates.

This isn’t the Orioles experimenting with third baseman Billy Rowell in right field or catcher Javy López at first base, for our older readers. Many of them still traumatized by it.

Has baseball’s No. 1 prospect mastered the art of playing the right side, which he did again last night against the Tigers? No, but he keeps working at it and showing that he’s capable of making the necessary adjustments.

No one doubted it, of course, but still good to see.

“I think it’s been going good,” Holliday said Friday after completing his latest interview with a national baseball writer, his accessibility, maturity and politeness also rating highly in camp.

“I’d like a little more action. I keep getting slow rollers hit between first and the pitcher, but as far as off the field and now in games, I feel really good. I feel like my feeds are getting better and I’m getting more comfortable. It’s just a matter of time getting more experience during the games. Other than that, I feel pretty good about that.”

Holliday entered Friday night’s game against the Tigers with seven hits in 21 at-bats, including two doubles and two triples. He came within a home run of the cycle Tuesday in Clearwater and played shortstop and second base.

Given three at-bats Friday, Holliday was hitless with one strikeout from the bottom of the order before Connor Norby replaced him.

The odds seem set at 50-50 for Holliday to make the team three months past his 20^th birthday. No one in the organization is offering bold declarations, perhaps because the outcome remains unknown.

Holliday is squaring up more balls now than earlier in camp, also as expected, and the Orioles knew he could concentrate on second base without it impacting him negatively in other areas.

Kolten Wong, signed to a minor league deal on Feb. 28 and a two-time Gold Glove winner at second, seems to pose a bit of a threat to Holliday based on experience, track record and providing a left-handed bat. But Holliday immediately gravitated toward Wong in workouts, taking grounders side by side, and the veteran happily offered instruction and guidance.

“With him, I just let him do his thing, and if there’s anything that he’s feeling that he can’t do or is struggling with, then I try to give him some advice. But for the most part, I just try to let him be the athlete he is,” Wong said.

“The kid’s dynamic, he’s explosive and fun to watch. It’s just kind of one of those things where you just let him make all the moves he’s going to make and you try to give him little tips here and there when you can.”

For any infielder sliding over to second, executing a double play seems to be the most imposing adjustment among the many, which also includes proper positioning for cutoffs.

“For sure, double plays. That’s the biggest thing,” Wong said.

“Most of the people don’t understand, when you turn double plays from second base, you’re basically turning it blind. You’re also having an understanding of where first base is, how to turn, how to be in a good, balanced position, because that’s usually the hardest thing. When you’re turning, you’re kind of off-balance, so the biggest thing we try to work on is staying balanced, staying on our toes, and that’s one thing I try to help him with.

“He wasn’t turning it as efficiently, so just kind of help him out with that a little bit.”

Holliday agrees that taking throws at second is one of the more prominent challenges, but he also places tremendous importance on getting the ball to the shortstop moving to the bag.

“I think just being able to play shortstop my whole life, trying to be athletic playing that, the throw from every angle, I think the feeds are probably the most important because, in the big leagues, if you get a chance to turn a double play, you want to turn it,” Holliday said.

“That’s something that I know the Orioles and Hyder (manager Brandon Hyde) and Manso (coach Tony Mansolino) are very passionate about is being able to turn double plays. That’s kind of what we’ve been hammering is the feeds and being able to be comfortable and know what I have in my bag. Just stuff like that.

“The transfers, yeah, it’s a bit different. Obviously, you’re coming across and you see everything at short. At second, you’re just kind of throwing blind. But I think the feeds is what we’ve been hammering the most.”

Holliday is an astute and attentive student. The tools barely fit in the belt. And Wong is the latest to notice and appreciate it.

“I mean, the dude’s a beast,” Wong said with a chuckle, “so he’ll figure it out.”