Jackson Holliday Debut Put Up Huge Ratings For MLB Network

The much-anticipated debut of Jackson Holliday was a huge win for MLB Network.

The 20-year-old Baltimore Orioles infielder played his first big league game on Wednesday — a 7-5 win over the Boston Red Sox. Without airing in the Baltimore or Boston markets, the game averaged 626,000 viewers. That's the second-most viewers of any regular-season game on MLB Network since it launched in 2009. The only one to beat it was Derek Jeter’s final home game with the New York Yankees in 2014.

Jackson Holliday — son of former seven-time All-Star and World Series Champion outfielder Matt Holliday — entered the season as the consensus top-ranked prospect in baseball after the Orioles selected him No. 1 overall in the 2022 MLB Draft.

After spending just a few weeks this season with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, Holliday enters with high expectations for a team that won 101 games last year (only to then fizzle out and get swept in the ALDS). He hit .333, with 14 hits, 9 RBI and 2 home runs in 10 games in the Minors this year.

READ: Orioles Prospect Jackson Holliday Reacts To Being Promoted To Big Leagues

But so far, he's hitless in his first 11 big league plate appearances, and he's struck out seven times.

"Guys are pitching a little bit different versus working on things. They’re trying to get you out," Holliday said. "It’s been a little bit different, and obviously, it’s going to take some time to adjust. But I take pride in being able to adjust pretty fast, and just looking forward to keep learning and to grow my game."

(Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

Matt Holliday says his son's been a bit aggressive at the plate, and during Friday's Apple TV+ broadcast, he offered some tips.

"He looks like he might be pressing a little bit," Matt said. "He’s faced three really good starters, and in this league, there’s just no soft landing spots. It’s a challenge, it’s a grind every day. But he’s up for the task. He just needs to get that first one and take a deep breath, and then I think that it will relax him a little bit."

The Orioles host the Milwaukee Brewers Saturday afternoon at Camden Yards — where Jackson will look to get that elusive first hit in front of a home crowd.