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My friend in RI sent me this link. Buncha fluff really but since it pertains to a draft pick I offer it up...
06/08/2006
Holmes eager to take the next step
JON BAKER , Times sports writer
LINCOLN -- It was about 4 p.m., Tuesday when Steve Holmes’ athletic future took a life-altering turn.
Actually, the surreal moment also came in rather amusing fashion.
In an attempt to get his mind off the first day of Major League Baseball’s June Draft, he and girlfriend Monique Larue, a former Lincoln High schoolmate, walked onto his parents’ second-story deck to feed a stray cat the family nicknamed Chipper (after Atlanta Braves’ standout Chipper Jones).
"Anything I could think of to forget about it, I did it," Holmes said from his Lime Rock neighborhood home on Wednesday afternoon. "Monique and I had played cards and board games, and then we saw the cat had showed up so we went out to feed it. Next thing I knew, I heard my mom screaming from the back room, so I threw the cat food down and came through the sliding-glass door.
"I saw my mom in front of the computer; she had been monitoring the Internet," he added. "She was yelling and crying, and said, ‘Oh, my God, you’re going to the New York Mets!’ I looked at the screen, heard my name called and saw it all on MLB.com.
"Right when that happened, everyone was hugging me and everybody else, and -- as is usually the case -- a minute later, I got a phone call from Larry Izzo (the Mets’ Northeast area supervisor of scouting). He called to say ‘Congratulations,’ and that he was very pleased that I’d be with the Mets. He also said he’d call me soon, and that he would be at my house in a couple of days to work out a contract.
"I still don’t know if anyone fed the cat."
Just like that, Holmes -- a University of Rhode Island junior righty who had been a mainstay of the pitching staff -- had attained his dream of playing professional baseball.
Someday had become the present, as he was selected in the fifth round (154th overall). He also had earned a ton of prestige as the Ram drafted the quickest. URI had experienced success in that department before, as skipper Jim Foster -- and former mentor Frank Leoni, now with William & Mary in Virginia -- have produced five draftees over the past four years.
"I wasn’t surprised that it was the Mets," he grinned while relaxing at his kitchen table. "I think (scouts) were at every start I had this year. I was very comfortable with them, and they were one of three teams who had showed the most interest. The Red Sox and Yankees were the others.
"I’ve always liked the Red Sox, but it didn’t matter what team drafted me," he added. "It could’ve been the Dodgers or the San Francisco Giants, and I still would’ve been happy. But the Mets? I’m thrilled. It’s a great organization. I’ve heard a lot of super things about them from buddies of mine in the minors.
"I can’t tell you how excited I am to be with them."
The feeling has to be mutual. This spring, Holmes helped the Rams to a 34-16 overall record with a team-best 10-2 mark. Most impressive, he led all NCAA Division I whirlers with a phenomenal 1.30 ERA (minimum 50 innings pitched).
He also mustered 93 strikeouts this season, and -- with 255 over the last three -- ranks No. 1 on the URI list for career whiffs. He closed his collegiate career with a stunning 22-4 mark.
That’s right. Holmes doesn’t plan on returning for his senior campaign.
"I don’t think I’ll go back," he said. "I’ll know for sure in a couple of days, when I meet with Mr. Izzo. On Friday, I say down with my parents (Doug and Sharon) and Coach Foster and discussed the whole thing. Coach has been there before, and he understood the situation I’d be in when I got the call. He supported me, and so did my parents, so I can’t thank them enough for that."
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The 6-2, 200-pound two-time Atlantic-10 All-Conference selection stated he’d miss his friends the most.
"It’s going to be hard," he said. "It’ll be tough to leave all my buddies at school. I’m so close to my four roommates, and that, I think, will be the hardest. They were my best friends, outside of my friends back here in Lincoln. The good news is they understand. They’re all pulling for me.
"I’ll bet I got a hundred phone calls within the first half-hour (of the Internet announcement)," he added. "Friends, family members, anyone you can think of called to say ‘Congratulations,’ and that they wished me the best of luck in the future. It was a day I’ll never forget."
As far he’s concerned, though, his career did have a downside.
Despite assembling a 7-1 mark as a sophomore, when the Rams captured the A-10 Conference Tournament title -- and earned an NCAA Division I bid -- both for the first time, Holmes, twice an interscholastic All-Stater, admitted being less than pleased.
"I was a weightlifter, and I got up to about 215-220," he said, his tone more serious. "I was lifting for power. I figured the bigger and stronger I was, the better I’d be. Last summer, something clicked in my head, and I knew I needed to change things ..I decided to lift more for endurance, more reps, and I went to a nutritionist at school. I wanted to get a better idea of what I should be eating.
"I had to hear it for myself," he added. "She said my diet was fine, but also gave me tips as to what I should be eating before a workout and after, and before a game and after. I started eating salads and drinking lots of water, nd she told me how to get the right amount of proteins and carbohydrates."
He dropped that excess weight, got back to a slender 200 or so and -- obviously -- led the staff in wins.
Former Lincoln and Rhody teammate Jad Prachniak, currently Leoni’s pitching coach at William & Mary, offered minimal surprise to Holmes’ draft news.
"When he was a freshman in high school, I was a senior, and he was tremendously talented but still just a kid," he claimed. "When he got to URI, you could tell that he had matured. His freshman year, that first fall, he came down with (mononucleosis) right after school started, and that’s just when the freshmen start to prove themselves or fall by the wayside.
"He played a little ‘fall ball, but not a lot, so he had a lot to prove once the spring came," Prachniak added. "The thing is, he did it. He had a lot of talent, but he never thought about it that way. No one works harder than that kid.
"With him being chosen in the fifth round, that’s a testament to his work ethic. He always got the most out of his ability, and now I know he’ll try to do it again. He’s a great pick for the Mets. Then again, it would’ve been a great pick for anyone who took him."
Prachniak’s father, Paul, the head of Lincoln Parks and Recreation, stated -- unofficially, of course -- that Holmes is the fifth Lincoln resident to reach such lofty status. Other draftees include Billy Keough (late 1960s), Andy Wright and Chuck Kwolek (‘70s) and Brian Domenico (early ‘90s, Athletics).
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When he heard the news, Holmes -- a model of humility -- admitted memories of playing in the Lincoln Little League, for the high school team, for Cumberland American Legion Post 14, came flooding back. You remember the ones you had as a 10-year-old? These were the same, though magnified. He figured with enough work and dedication to the game, he could make it.
"I remember when I was a kid, I always wanted to be like Roger Clemens," he laughed. "I’d be throwing by myself against the wall at the elementary school down the street, or off the garage door, or pitching to my dad or my brother Doug, and I was dreaming. I’d be thinking, ‘OK, the bases are loaded, bottom of the ninth, seventh game of the World Series. You’ve got to get the out.’ Then I’d throw it as hard as I could and get the strikeout.
"I plan on leaving school because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he added. "It’s what I’ve been waiting for my whole life. It’s a dream, and there’s no way I can let this slip by. I’m going to take this opportunity and see where it goes. Right now, the way I look at it, I’m just one step close to where I want to be.
"I’ve reached my first goal, and that is to play professional baseball. Now the next goal is to make the major leagues. Obviously, I want to do well in the minors. I know I’m going to end up there anyway, but the goal is to reach the bigs."
Turns out, Holmes -- who had registered a 2.7 GPA in his health/fitness major -- is most proud of his fastball, which has been clocked at 94 mph. Others in his repertoire are a nasty curveball and a changeup that ranges, he says, between 78 and 80 mph.
"I love the fastball because I can locate it pretty well," he stated. "I have the best command with it. Scouts didn’t talk to me that much about my pitches. I guess they liked what I do, though."
When asked how he felt about pitching so well for so long, he downplayed his success.
"It doesn’t blow my mind," he insisted. "I don’t think about my record or anything like that. People may not believe you when you say that, but I never thought about it. When I was on the mound, it was all about keeping the team in the game and winning. That’s how I was raised. It’s not about (personal gain), it’s about the team winning."
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As for his fondest memories, he holds dear to a pair. The first came late last spring in Dayton, Oh., when Rhody captured that A-10 Tournament title.
"We were playing George Washington in the final, and I pitched, though I wish I had pitched better," he said. "We ended up winning, 9-7, and it was our first A-10 championship. The whole thing was unbelievable. Now that was a celebration. We were going to our first NCAA tournament, and the feeling was incredible."
The second came with much less drama, at least for his teammates
"There was one game this season, my third start of the year against Columbia while we were on our spring training trip to Florida in March," he said. "We were down in West Palm Beach at some complex and -- right before I was to pitch -- I saw about 15 scouts sitting there watching me. I took a step back and thought, ‘Geez, what’s going on?’
"We ended up winning the game, 5-0, and -- afterward -- scouts from a few teams came up to me and introduced themselves. I don’t remember how many hits I gave up, but I went eight innings and had 10 strikeouts, so I guess those guys liked me. That’s when I started to think I might get drafted.
"I kept the ball, and I remember having it in my bag," he continued. "When I saw my mom, I just said, ‘Here, this is for you.’ When I gave it to her, neither one of us had to say anything. We both knew what it meant."
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At the Beach -- Stained glass panel by Kevin Mulvey
