Tommy Holmes

Tommy Holmes
Outfielder
Born: March 29, 1917(1917-03-29) Brooklyn, New York
Died: April 14, 2008(2008-04-14) (aged 91) Boca Raton, Florida
Batted: Left	Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 14, 1942 for the Boston Braves
Last MLB appearance
September 28, 1952 for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Career statistics
Batting average	.302
Hits	1,507
Runs batted in	581
Teams
As player Boston Braves (1942–1951) Brooklyn Dodgers (1952) As manager Boston Braves (1951–1952)
Career highlights and awards
2× All-Star (1945, 1948)

Thomas Francis Holmes (March 29, 1917 – April 14, 2008) was an American right and center fielder and manager in Major League Baseball who played nearly his entire career for the Boston Braves. He batted over .300 every year from 1944 through 1948, peaking with a .352 mark in 1945 when he finished second in the National League batting race and was runner-up for the NL's Most Valuable Player Award. Holmes retired with a career .302 average.

Holmes was born in Brooklyn, New York. One of the most popular players in the twilight years of the Boston Braves, "Kelly" Holmes finished second in MVP voting in the National League in 1945, after leading the NL in hits (224), home runs (28) and doubles (47). That season, Holmes set a modern NL record by hitting safely in 37 consecutive games from June 6 through July 8 (Bill Dahlen and Willie Keeler had longer streaks in the 1890s). His mark was broken in 1978 by Pete Rose. Holmes struck out just 9 times in 1945. His ratio of home runs (28) to strikeouts that season is one of the best in baseball history.

Holmes, who batted and threw left-handed, signed his first professional contract with the New York Yankees, but could not break into their outfield of Joe DiMaggio, Tommy Henrich and Charlie Keller. After three over-.300 seasons with the Yanks' top farm team, the Newark Bears, he was traded to the Braves in February 1942. Given a regular major league job, Holmes batted over .300 for five consecutive seasons (1944–48). In 1948, he hit .325 in 139 games to help lead Boston to the NL pennant.

After the 1950 season, Holmes, 33, was named player-manager of the team's Class A Hartford farm club. On June 19, 1951, with the big-league Braves floundering in fifth place under manager Billy Southworth, Holmes was called back to Boston to manage his old team. He also remained on the active roster as a pinch hitter. It was hoped he could arouse the club, and bring fans back to Braves Field. The team went 48–47 under Holmes for the remainder of 1951, and when they began 1952 with a mark of 13–22, Holmes was fired on May 31 and replaced by Charlie Grimm. The Braves finished seventh, drew only 281,000 fans, and left Boston for Milwaukee the following spring. That 61–69 stretch (.469) was Holmes' only major league managing stint.

Holmes finished the 1952 season as a pinch hitter for the Brooklyn Dodgers, then managed in the Braves' and Brooklyn farm systems from 1953 to 1957. He retired with a .302 lifetime batting average with 88 home runs in his 1,320-game, eleven-year major league career. He returned to the game in 1973 as director of amateur baseball relations for the New York Mets, a post he held for three decades until he retired at age 86.

Holmes died of natural causes at the age of 91 at an assisted living facility in Boca Raton, Florida.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• BaseballLibrary - profile and career highlights
• The Baseball Page
• Tommy Holmes at Find a Grave

Preceded by Bill Nicholson	National League Home Run Champion 1945	Succeeded by Ralph Kiner
Preceded by Billy Southworth	Boston Braves Managers 1951-1952	Succeeded by Charlie Grimm