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 OAKLAND,
Calif. - The calls come just about every day, and by
now Damon Hollins has learned to expect them. As
exciting as spending the last month in the major
leagues has been for the 30-year-old rookie, it's
been even more rewarding for his mother, and she
shares her overwhelming pride with him on a daily
basis.
It was just the two of them for all those years in
the small condominium in Vallejo, Calif., and for so
long Deborah Watson was the one - the only one,
really - telling her son to keep at it.
Through Hollins' 14 years in the minor leagues,
including a frustrating 10 straight begun in Triple
A, Watson would tell him to keep working. That he
was going to get his chance in the big leagues. That
there would be more than the couple weeks he had
with the Braves and the Dodgers in 1998, and the 10
days with the Braves last year.
"She's been the one in my corner all the time.
That's my rock right there," Hollins said. "She's
just so happy for me being up here and experiencing
a little bit of the big-league life.
"She leaves me a message every day, leaving me that
encouragement. I'm 30 years old and she's still on
me like I'm 15 or 16. ... But it's good. It's always
good to have that support system. Everyone doesn't
have it."
This week, with the Devil Rays playing in Oakland,
about a half hour from Vallejo, Watson can deliver
the messages in person. And she can see in person
that her son really did make it back to the big
leagues.
"I can't even describe how proud I am," Watson said
Monday afternoon before heading to the game with
more than two dozen friends and relatives.
Watson has seen Hollins in a major-league uniform
once before, just by luck because he happened to be
called up last year when the Braves were playing the
last game of a series in San Francisco (he flied out
as a pinch-hitter).
But, apart from TV, she never has seem him like
this, playing somewhat regularly in the Rays
outfield and ranking among the league's most
productive rookies.
Going into Monday's night game, the 5-foot-11,
180-pound outfielder led all American League rookies
in average (.333), home runs (five), on-base (.378)
and slugging percentage (.587). Even better, he hit
a two-run homer in his first at-bat Monday.
The Rays - from general manager Chuck LaMar and
assistant Bart Braun, who helped scout Hollins for
the Braves in the early 1990s, to manager Lou
Piniella and the players, - laud his perseverance,
work ethic and positive attitude.
"He's really done a nice job," Piniella said. "It
goes to show you if you don't lose sight of your
dreams and you keep working and you have confidence
in yourself, things can turn out well. And they have
so far for him."
Since being called up - somewhat unexpectedly - on
May 2, Hollins has played in 26 games, which is
nearly double the total of his three previous
big-league stays.
"It's definitely a rewarding feeling," Hollins said.
"To be in the big leagues right now after going
through something like that - it's like you hurdle
so many obstacles and there's always something
that's holding you down or pulling you back or
something."
The last thing Hollins will do here, he said, is get
too comfortable. Many times over the years with the
Braves, and with the Dodgers, the Reds, the Brewers
and the Twins, and this spring with the Rays, he was
the one who, for whatever reason, was sent down.
It could have happened a few weeks ago when Travis
Lee came off the disabled list, but the Rays instead
dropped veteran Chris Singleton. It could happen
again this summer, when Rocco Baldelli comes off the
disabled list or when top prospect Delmon Young is
brought up. "I've been that guy so many times,"
Hollins said. "I've got a little blister on my
shoulder from getting that tap."
Hollins was a fourth-round pick of the Braves in
1992, and stepped his way through their system one
year at a time. When he got called up in April 1998
(to replace an injured Danny Bautista), he was 23
and thought he had it made. He certainly didn't
think it would be nearly six years before he would
get another chance.
"I was in the big leagues at 23 and I think that was
a blessing in disguise for me," he said. "I got to
see how good the life was, and how much this is
where you want to be if you want to play baseball.
If you're a minor-leaguer, you're going to work your
tail off to be here.
"That just kept me going. Even though it was only
two weeks, it was two weeks of big-league time, and
a lot of guys don't even get that. When I came up
and experienced that, I knew this was where I wanted
to be and I didn't care how long it took. Obviously
I wanted to get back as soon as possible, but
sometimes that road is not the way you pave it out
to be."
He learned something else, which stuck with him then
and is evident now. "I knew that was where I wanted
to be and obviously I worked hard to get there," he
said. "I didn't know you had to work even harder to
stay."
Watson raised Hollins as a single parent, working
long hours as a school secretary to pay the bills
and teaching her son to fend for himself and to
believe in himself. His father never has been a part
of Damon's life. Each morning, Watson reinforces the
message: "I tell him, "Hello. Have a good day. Stay
safe, I love you, And go do your thing.' "
Hollins does, and he is determined to someday repay
her for her faith.
"Even when it didn't look like I was going to get
back to the big leagues, she was the one who kept me
going," Hollins said. "When you grow up the way I
did and you have someone like that, you always want
to do for her. I'm the perfect example of one of
those kids coming up with just a single parent, you
want to take care of your mom one day. That's what
the bottom line is. That's what keeps me in this
game. That's what keeps me going strong."
[Last modified May 31, 2005, 00:45:11]
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