Old habits to be hard for Holland to curb
Rules will restrict actions that come as second nature
Pirates players’ reactions to Major League Baseball’s COVID-19 guidelines have been varied the past few days. Right-hander Trevor Williams said he has skimmed over the 100-pluspage manual outlining the do’s and don’ts of the new season. First baseman Josh Bell said he hasn’t read it, but he’s had the rules explained to him by various people, hoping to follow them as closely as he can.
Left-hander Derek
Holland, an 11-year veteran whom the Pirates signed this offseason, seems to have taken a more matter-of-fact approach to the season. He isn’t necessarily saying the rules are bad or that he won’t try to adhere to them, but he does understand that they will be hard to follow.
Spitting or licking fingers is second-nature for some players. MLB has said it will allow pitchers to carry a wet rag in their back pocket to replace licking their fingers, but still, breaking these habits is not as simple as one might think.
“You might even see umpires get caught maybe doing something on accident,” Holland said Sunday. “It’s a hard habit we’re going to break.
“Like, this sounds so bad to say it this way, but think of guys that dip and they try to quit dipping. It’s just a hard habit to break. This is going to take a little bit. I’m sure it’s going to be a lot of controversy going over this with guys licking their lips, whatever the case may be.
“I’m not going to lie: I really don’t want to have a wet rag in my back pocket, because — this is weird — but I’m probably going to get a
butt rash, if you think about it. My crack’s going to be all wet. I’m sweating already, then I’ve got this wet rag to add to it. Come on now. I don’t know. It’s going to be interesting. I’m at least trying to keep the mood light, but it really is … it’s going to be interesting how this goes.
“I’ve been playing for 11 years in the big leagues, and now I’ve got to try to figure out not to do this, not to touch my mouth or not to whatever. I have to bring my own rosin out there. I have to have a wet rag in my back pocket. It’s something I have to try to adjust to.”
Holland already has taken safety measures since moving to Pittsburgh, saying he hasn’t really gone outside much, instead opting to sit in his house and stream video games on Twitch to facilitate some interaction with fans.
It might be more a case of Holland knowing what has worked for him in the past and trying not to throw himself off too much when he’s on the mound.
After right-hander Chris Archer had season-ending surgery last month, it seems likely Holland will end up in the starting rotation come opening day. That hasn’t been made official to Holland yet, though, so he has been trying to work hard and pitch well to earn a spot on the roster.
“Coming into spring training I was competing for a job in general, whether it was starting or relieving, and I still have that same mindset now,” Holland said. “I still have not been told I’m on this team, so I have to continue to have that mindset that I had going into spring training of, ‘I’ve got to make this team.’
“There’s no worrying about anybody else but myself right now. It’s making sure that I can get on this team. My job is to be here and be able to pass along knowledge to the younger guys and also make sure I can be something to be part of this team to help us be successful.”
Holland seems to believe the Pirates can be successful, too. Multiple times throughout his Zoom conference call with reporters, he emphasized that the Pirates seem like a hard-working, cohesive unit.
“No matter what it says on paper or what people say about this team, we have such a strong group of guys with a great — I’m not kidding — mentality of wanting to win that every single day when we set foot on this field, whether it’s practice, games or anything,” Holland said. “They show it every single time. And it gets overlooked.”