The return of Holcomb
Growing up in Spokane, Darin Holcomb has vivid boyhood memories of many warm summer nights spent at Avista Stadium cheering on the Spokane Indians against the seven other teams in the Northwest League.
This week, the 22-year-old former Shadle Park High School and Gonzaga baseball player returned to Avista Stadium – setting up camp in the visitors’ dugout with his new team: the Tri-City Dust Devils.
“I was a huge Indians fan growing up as a kid here, and I went to most of their games every summer,” said Holcomb.
“It’s just a special experience to be in the visitor’s dugout playing against them. The fans here are by far the best in the league. I’ve traveled to all the stadiums in the league this summer and played on the road, and the fans here are definitely the most energetic.”
Drafted 372nd overall by the Colorado Rockies in the 12th round of this year’s MLB First-Year Player Draft, Holcomb has switched alliances and is now fully committed to helping the Dust Devils take down the hometown team.
On Monday night, in the first contest of the three-game series between the Dust Devils and Indians, Holcomb hit his tenth home run of the season off the Spokane’s Ryan Tatusko and rounded the bases amidst the rowdy cheers of family members who had come out to watch him play.
The following night, Holcomb went 2 for 5 at the plate and contributed two RBIs in the Dust Devils’ 9-8 loss.
Through consistent performances like these, the former Bulldog – who led Gonzaga in runs scored (43), hits (86) and doubles (17) last season – has quickly established himself as the Dust Devils’ go-to guy on offense, and a reliable third base stalwart on defense.
“Darin’s been outstanding for us this year, probably right now the guy who’s picking up the team,” Tri-City manager Freddie Ocasio said. “I mean he’s hit 10 home runs and a whole bunch of RBIs and he’s pretty much our clutch hitter.
“From the beginning once he started playing, we knew he was going to be our third baseman. We’ve got other people who can play that position, but with him playing the way he’s played, he’s pretty much our guy.”
Holcomb’s having fun in the pros now, but after his name was announced at the draft, it took him a few days of soul searching and consulting with family and coaches before he finally decided to forgo his senior season of eligibility at Gonzaga and embark on his professional career.
“It was definitely the hardest decision of my life, and a stressful time to say the least,” Holcomb said. “I definitely wanted to come back for my senior year because I love Gonzaga so much.”
But in the end, the idea of playing close to home appealed to Holcomb, as did the knowledge that he’d get a lot of playing time because the Dust Devils were short on third basemen.
“Also, I was familiar with the Rockies organization, I knew how they worked, and liked that they give opportunities for advancement and treat their players right,” Holcomb said.
“When it came down to it I was just ready to start my pro career. It’s something I’d dreamed of my whole life. But it definitely took me a couple of days to decide.”
It turned out to be a good baseball decision.
Holcomb is fourth in the NWL in slugging percentage and hits. He’s tied for third in the league with 10 home runs, and is batting .305 overall, and his rapid progress has surpassed even his own expectations of himself.
“The biggest challenge was adjusting to the wood bat, but it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be,” Holcomb said. “I never expected to hit this many home runs, I didn’t even hit this many in college. I remember priding myself on hitting line drives and just putting the ball in play.
“So overall I’m pretty happy with the way I’ve adjusted, but I’m always looking for new ways to get better.”
With the college baseball season still months away, Holcomb says the realization that he’s done with college ball probably hasn’t quite sunk in yet.
But he knows he’ll miss his Bulldogs when they come back to school in the fall, and then start practice in the spring without him.
“I’ll definitely follow everything they do once the season starts and they come back to practice, and I’m sure it’ll set in then that I’m not out there practicing and traveling with them,” Holcomb said.