May 25: Happy Birthday, Mikey!

The Main Event

• Dave Hollins (born 1966) – Hollins spent seven of his 12 major league seasons with the Phillies. Known for a gritty style of play and for being a fierce competitor, Hollins fit perfectly on the 1993 National League championship team.

Today marks the birthday of one of the most ferocious competitors in Philadelphia Phillies history. David Michael Hollins was born on May 25, 1966, in Buffalo, New York, and he would go on to become one of the defining figures of the beloved, scruffy, improbable 1993 Phillies squad that captured the hearts of an entire city.

Hollins attended the University of South Carolina and played college baseball there for three seasons before the San Diego Padres selected him in the sixth round of the 1987 amateur draft. He spent three years grinding through San Diego’s minor league system without reaching the majors, but his path changed dramatically when the Philadelphia Phillies scooped him up in the Rule 5 draft after the 1989 season. It was a low-cost gamble that would pay enormous dividends for the organization. Hollins hit safely in his major league debut in Chicago and became the first Phillie to connect for pinch-hit home runs from both sides of the plate.

The Heart of Macho Row

Hollins became a cornerstone of what was known as “Macho Row” — the rough-edged, unapologetically blue-collar Phillies clubhouse of the early 1990s. As a switch-hitting third baseman, Hollins hit .273 with 18 home runs and 93 RBIs in 1993 and earned a spot on the National League All-Star team, serving as the de facto leader of the Macho Row. His reputation for intensity was legendary. Curt Schilling famously said of him: “Dave Hollins is the only guy I’ve ever seen that I think was actually capable of killing someone on the diamond. He is intense even when he sleeps. He chews bricks.” Manager Larry Bowa offered a similarly vivid assessment: “If you get in a fight with Dave Hollins, you have to literally kill him. He’s going to keep getting up.”

During the 1993 postseason, Hollins was one of the Phillies’ most important contributors. He hit a two-run homer in the series-deciding NLCS Game 6 win over the Atlanta Braves, helping propel Philadelphia to the World Series. He finished the postseason with two home runs and six RBI.

Hollins carried several nicknames — “Head” and “Headley” among them — but perhaps the most colorful was “Mikey.” Longtime teammate and friend John Kruk coined the nickname as a label for Hollins’ alter ego: cross him, and “Mikey” would emerge with a vengeance. Kruk confirmed it later in life: “We called him ‘Mikey’ when that alter ego kicked in. He has a big heart and he’s a caring person. He’s a great teammate if you’re on his side. If you’re not, then he could be hell to deal with.”

Adversity, Resilience, and Life After Philadelphia

Hollins was traded to the Boston Red Sox at the trade deadline in 1995 and then signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Twins as a free agent that winter. He was later traded from the Twins to the Seattle Mariners for a player-to-be-named-later — that player turned out to be David Ortiz. Adversity struck in 1994–95 with a series of debilitating wrist injuries and a diagnosis of diabetes, but Hollins battled back with a strict dietary regimen and intense physical rehabilitation to post one of his finest seasons with the Anaheim Angels in 1997, hitting .288 with 16 home runs and 85 RBI. He returned to the Phillies briefly in 2002 but managed only 17 at-bats before spider bites aggravated his diabetes and landed him on the disabled list. He officially announced his retirement on May 21, 2003.

Life After the Diamond

After hanging up his cleats, Hollins transitioned into coaching and scouting. He served as hitting coach for the Binghamton Mets, a Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets, before becoming a scout for the Philadelphia Phillies organization. The scouting position kept him on the road roughly 25 days a month for 11 years, but Hollins valued the flexibility it gave him — he called it “the best-kept secret in baseball.” That chapter ended in November 2020 when the Phillies trimmed their scouting department and Hollins was laid off. He had just moved his family — he and wife Kerri have five children — to South Carolina. He later described it as a blessing in disguise, noting he would never have quit on his own.

Today, Hollins remains connected to the game through his family. His son Beau is a powerful switch-hitting pitcher and outfielder with professional aspirations, and the elder Hollins has said he hopes his son experiences the game with more joy and less fury than his own career afforded him. In 2004, Hollins was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, a fitting tribute to a player who never stopped fighting — even when the game fought back.

Philadelphia Baseball Events for May 25

• May 25, 1922 – Phillies pitcher Bill Hubbell suffers a skull fracture and concussion when he is hit with a ball off the bat of Brooklyn’s Tom Griffith. He was back pitching within a month.
• May 25, 1929 – Homer Peel hits into a triple play against Brooklyn at Ebbets Field. Exactly one week earlier, Lefty O’Doul had hit into a triple play when Brooklyn was visiting Baker Bowl.
• May 25, 1941 – Dodger Pete Reiser came to bat against Phillie Ike Pearson at Ebbets field, the first time the two faced off since Pearson beaned Reiser in April, threatening his career. This time, with the bases loaded, Reiser hit an inside the park grand slam to lead Brooklyn to an 8-4 win. Seventy years later, the play is heard in the background of a scene in the movie “Captain America.”
• May 25, 1951 – Making his major-league debut, Willie Mays goes 0-for-5 vs. the Phillies.
• May 25, 1977 – The Phillies released Bobby Tolan, who played 13 seasons in the majors. In addition to playing 125 games over two seasons with the Phillies, he also played for St. Louis, Cincinnati, and San Diego.
• May 25, 1979 – Signed free agent Bud Harrelson, who had played 13 seasons with the Mets. The signing brought Harrelson and Pete Rose onto the same team after the pair were involved in a fight at second base during the 1973 NLCS. Both players later joked about their rivalry, with Harrelson noting in his autobiography that they actually became friends. Rose even signed a picture of their 1973 fight for him, saying, “Thanks for making me famous.”
• May 25, 1983 – Gary Matthews hit a home run in the eight inning, ending the team’s streak of 42 2/3 innings without a run, but the Phillies lose to Los Angeles 6-1.
• May 25, 1990 – Charlie Hayes‘ three-run homer gives the Phillies the win, and first place in the standings for the first time since 1984. A loss the next day drops them back to second.
• May 25, 2011 – The Phillies take 19 innings to beat Cincinnati 5-4. Wilson Valdez, who started the game at second base, pitched the final inning, retiring three of the four batters he faced. He was the first position player to start the game in the field and earn a win as a pitcher since Babe Ruth in 1921.
• May 25, 2014 – Los Angeles’ Josh Beckett no-hit the Phillies at Citizens’ Bank Park. It was the first time the team had been on the losing end of a no-hitter since 1978.

ICYMI

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Philadelphia Baseball Birthdays for May 25

• Al Reach (born 1840) – Born in London, Reach played five seasons (1871-1875) for the Philadelphia Athletics when they were in the National Association. He hit .247 in 83 games.
• Jimmie Keenan (born 1899) – His two seasons in the majors were both with the Phillies in 1920 and 1921. The lefty went 1-2, 6.38 in two starts and 14 relief appearances.
• Randall Simon (born 1975) – An eight-year major league first baseman, Simon finished his playing career with a season in Philadelphia as a pinch-hitter hitting .238 in 23 pinch-hitting appearances.
• Erick Brito (born 2002) – A Phillies minor league infielder, Brito is currently with the High-A Jersey Shore BlueClaws.
• Kehden Hettiger (born 2004) – A catcher and first baseman on the Double-A Reading roster, the Phillies drafted Hettiger in the 11th round of the 2023 Draft.

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