An Interview with Quad Cities Catcher Brian Holberton

One of the things I always ask players when I interview them is, "Can you tell me something about yourself that most people don't know and might be surprised to hear." The answer to that question for Quad Cities Catcher Brian Holberton may very well surprise the casual fan. When Holberton was drafted by the Astros in the 9th round in 2013 out of the University of North Carolina, he wasn't a catcher. He was an outfielder. But when the Astros called and asked if he could catch, he said yes.

Holberton is in his second season now, but is still learning the nuances of playing the position. According to Quad Cities Manager Omar Lopez, "He's still working and trying to make some progress behind the plate. Compared to Spring Training and Instructional League last year, he's been doing much, much, much, much better. He has some issues with his throwing arm mechanics, but he's been doing great. He's not there yet. He needs more time. He needs to play more, but he's been working very hard."

Pitching Coach Dave Borkowski also weighed in on Holberton's progress, "He's come a long ways. Very, very raw in Spring Training. Very raw at the beginning of the season, but he's worked hard. He's gotten a thousand times better at blocking the ball and receiving and stuff like that. He's still got work to do on the throwing, on the mechanical part of it, maybe calling a game here and there, but he's made huge strides in what he's doing back there."

But one thing keeps Holberton in the line-up as he often fills the designated hitter role when he isn't catching -- his hitting. As Lopez puts it, "The kid is going to be able to hit and that's what he's been doing for the most part so far in the season." In 48 games, he is hitting .304/.366/.506 with 14 doubles, one triple and six home runs.

Brian Holberton - June 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

I had a chance to talk with Holberton recently and the first thing I asked was what he felt like he'd accomplished so far this season and what he was working on. He responded, "I think overall just becoming a better catcher. First full year, just getting into the routine of playing every day, coming to the field and knowing what your body can do and what it can't do. Come out here and play enough and have fun.

"[My catching is] a work in progress. Seeing as I really didn't catch in college, getting thrown right in there as a professional catching. Feel pretty good. It's fun. Has its ups and downs and just get better one step at a time. Every day get better at something."

We also talked about his game on May 18th when he went 5-for-5 and hit for the cycle. "That was pretty cool. I've never done that before. Probably won't ever do it again. And it's just funny, the hardest one for me would be the triple and that was the last one. And going up to bat, you don't try to hit a triple. It just happened to go in the gap and they were shaded the other way, and Omar knew it. Omar waived the guy in front of me home and gave me a chance and I got in there safe so that's probably one of the coolest things I've done personally and I'll never forget it."

Other than the fact that he wasn't a catcher in college, I found out some other sibling-related trivia about Brian. "I have a twin brother. He just graduated from Clemson and he's going to med school. He's a smart kid. He's going to follow my sisters and go to med school. [I have] two sisters that are both married. My sister had her first child the day I was drafted. So I was drafted in the hospital."

When asked what he would do if he couldn't play baseball, Holberton said, "I was in the business school. I'd probably go back and get my business degree and see. I had a couple of internships but I think I would try to stick in baseball and try to be a general manager or something. I think that would be really fun to just stick around the game [combining sports and business]."

Who does he really enjoy catching? "Obviously, Brunnemann was an All-Star. He's a lot of fun to catch. He competes every day and goes out there and has an idea. He's working. He knows what he wants to throw a couple pitches before and he goes out there. He's a fun guy to catch. I'd say, Kent Emanual when he was here, just because I've known him and just being able to continue playing with him. That was fun to catch him too." [Holberton and Emanual were teammates at UNC.]

Are there any pitchers that are a bit more challenging to catch? "I don't want to say any names, but we do have a couple kids in the organization that, it's not a bad thing at all, but they throw really hard and so, when they're on, it's awesome catching them and watching what they can do, but sometimes you've got to keep them under control, and they throw so hard, it gets challenging sometimes. It's still fun to catch those guys." Suspecting that Holberton was talking about one of the flamethrowers on the team, I followed up by asking whether or not catching a 100-mph fastball is painful. He told me, "If you catch it right, it doesn't. You can see sometimes catchers break their thumbs. Definitely sometimes you can get hurt blocking balls, stuff like that."

Which Astros pitcher would he least like to face? "I'd say Josh Hader just because he throws hard. He's kind of a side arm lefty and he looks really tough. I've caught him and he can pitch. So he's one guy I'd stay away from. And, also, I shouldn't say this, but Kent owns me ... school and Spring Training. I can't get a hit off him."

Who on the team makes him laugh? "I'd say my roommate Jake Rodriguez always has something funny to say. And actually we hang out probably the most and just being around him, everything he says I think is funny."

How is he enjoying Quad Cities? "It's a great place. The stadium's awesome. They take care of us here. It's a fun league. The guys we play - I know a bunch of guys on the other teams so it's fun. I like this place."

According to Lopez, Holberton is making strides behind the plate in catching, framing, receiving, calling the game, blocking and he shows flashes with the arm as well. But Lopez acknowledges that it is Holberton's bat that is going to carry him until the rest of his game catches up.

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Thank you for your time, Brian, and the best of luck as the season progresses.