Holmes' comeback to the majors a success
ATLANTA - From where he started to the place he now resides, it's hard to believe it's been just eight months since Darren Holmes began his comeback to major-league baseball. The former Roberson High star has just completed the most successful of his 12 regular seasons in the big leagues and now finds himself part of a run for the World Series title as a key member of the Atlanta Braves' bullpen. After back surgery that kept him out of baseball all of last season, the Asheville native and Fletcher resident is throwing better than ever at age 36. "I'm surprised, even a little amazed at where I'm at and how well things have gone," Holmes said earlier this week in the quiet of the Braves' clubhouse after losing the first game of the National League Division Series to San Francisco. He began spring training as a non-roster invitee, given little chance to make a veteran ballclub that needed bullpen help. Feeling stronger and with more arm velocity after the back surgery, Holmes won a spot on the club with a strong spring and then rattled off the first sub-2.00 earned run average of his career. Used as a setup man and usually limited to one inning or less, the 6-0, 202-pound right-hander rediscovered his fastball and finished second among National League relievers in ERA (1.81) to teammate Chris Hammond (0.95). "Darren and Chris (who sat out two seasons prior to this year) were the biggest surprises and one of the biggest reasons we won this year," said Atlanta manager Bobby Cox. "With those guys and (relievers Mike Remlinger and John Smoltz), if we had the lead after six innings, we pretty much had the game won. Our bullpen went from being a question mark to a strength, and Darren had a lot to do with that." In 55 games and 54.2 innings, Holmes allowed just 41 hits and 11 earned runs. He struck out 47, walked only 12 and didn't allow a run in his last 10 regular-season appearances (10 innings, 13 strikeouts). "I really wanted to finish with an ERA under 2," Holmes said. "With us clinching the (NL East) division so early, I knew I would be getting a lot of work to get ready for the postseason, so I really tried to bear down." His good work has continued in the playoffs. In appearances in each of the first two games vs. the Giants, Holmes allowed just one hit and no runs in 1 2/3 innings and has struck out three of the six batters he's faced. With his comeback already a success, Holmes hopes to complete a dream season with his second World Series ring (his first came with the Yankees in 1998). "It's already been a great year for me personally, but this time of year is what we all play for," he said. "Getting a ring and really feeling like you were a part of things (Holmes was left off the Yankees' post-season roster) would be the ultimate way to wrap this season up." Holmes signed a one-year contract for the veteran's minimum this season and will be a free agent at the end of the postseason. While he would prefer to stay with Atlanta and just three- plus hours away from his home in Fletcher with wife Kathy and his four children, Holmes said he will keep his options open. "I definitely want to play another year, and I would prefer it be here," he said. "I'm trying not to even think about that until our season ends, but then I have to think about it then and make a decision. "I would love to stay here, but I have to think about what's best if someone makes a better financial offer." "He came into spring training without a job and showed us he could still pitch," said Braves' pitching coach Leo Mazzone. "What a great story." Contact Jarrett at 232-5867 or [email protected].
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Holmes back where he belongs
ATLANTA - Darren Holmes stood on the mound at Turner Field earlier this week, looking fit and healthy and happy. It was a beautiful, warm pre-autumn afternoon on the second of October, and he was the focus of more than 40,000 people watching the first game of a National League Division Series game, Atlanta vs. San Francisco. The Braves had staged an eighth-inning rally to cut a six- run deficit to 8-5, and Holmes' job was to hold the Giants there and allow his team the opportunity to tie or win in the bottom of the ninth. He had a baseball in his right hand, as he has during the warm-weather months for much of his 36 years. This time last year he was home in Fletcher, recovering from experimental back surgery and staying up late to watch postseason baseball on TV. A successful 11-year career in Major League Baseball appeared to be over, and he watched friends and teammates from his last team make a magical run to the World Series championship. He watched the Arizona Diamondbacks' postseason success with a mixture of pride and happiness for people he loved and extreme regret that he wasn't a part of their joy. "That was tough, watching on TV," Holmes said. "Knowing what that feels like and not being able to be a part of it. Really tough." Images on video for most of us, Holmes saw not only the hits and runs and strikeouts but the idle chatter of bullpen buddies, the warmth and home-feel of the clubhouse, of hanging out with the guys and playing a child's game for fun and enormous profit. So his back got better, and he worked hard and started believing he could pitch again. He asked the Braves for an opportunity, went to spring training as really nothing more than a feel-good story with a longshot chance at making the team. Holmes started out pitching well in March and hasn't stopped, finishing with a miniscule earned-run average less than 2.00, second-best to teammate Chris Hammond among National League relievers. He talks of playing again next year, of feeling and throwing better than ever, and his voice and look is of a man contented and proud of where he has been and what he has accomplished. Back on the mound Wednesday, Holmes reared back and threw a third-strike fastball past the futile swing of Giants' outfielder Reggie Sanders. The crowd roared and the stadium's radar gun flashed 96, a number that a year ago seemed as much a dream as the faint hope that he would be throwing a baseball in a meaningful game again, a key cog in baseball's best bullpen. Darren Holmes is back. Contact Jarrett at 232-5867 or [email protected].
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