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Orioles young star only fifth player in franchise history to accomplish this feat

Originally posted on Baltimore Orioles on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Sep 3, 2025 6:00 PM ET

Given the expectations placed on them coming into the season, it isn’t a stretch to say the Baltimore Orioles have been the most disappointing team in baseball this season.

They were a surprise seller ahead of the trade deadline, moving on from multiple veterans and getting plenty of value back in return. The mini-reset this summer has set the Orioles up well for the future.

But even with the new infusion of young talent in the minors, the team certainly isn’t void of young talent at the major league level. One of the players who is providing excitement is second baseman Jackson Holliday.

While the 21-year-old struggled immensely in Year 1, some major steps forward have been taken in his second season. Holliday has performed at a much higher level, looking more comfortable in every facet of the game. There is still plenty of work for him to get close to his ceiling, but it is encouraging to see progress being made.

Jackson Holliday Achieves Rare Orioles Franchise Home Run Feat

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One area where Holliday has exhibited impressive improvement is in the power department. In 2024, he had a .311 slugging percentage and a 63 OPS+. Through 130 games and 566 plate appearances in 2025, he upped those numbers to .384 and 95.

They have gone up even more with Holliday putting together a big day at the plate in the series finale against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday afternoon. He went deep in his first at-bat of the game, hitting a leadoff home run for the third time this season; it was his 16th homer of the campaign, which puts him in some incredible company in franchise history.

Jackson Holliday leads it off for the @Orioles with a homer pic.twitter.com/wMzP7fI8P3
— MLB (@MLB) September 3, 2025

As shared by Jake Rill of MLB.com, Holliday is only the fifth player in Orioles history to hit at least 16 home runs in their age-21 season. The last time it occurred was 43 years ago, when Cal Ripken Jr. hit 28 in 1982; Ripken was preceded by Eddie Murray in 1977 with 27 home runs, Curt Blefary in 1965 with 22, and Boog Powell in 1963 with 25.

3rd career leadoff home run for Jackson Holliday, all coming this season.#Orioles to hit 16+ HRs in age-21 season:
Boog Powell -- 25 in '63
Curt Blefary -- 22 in '65
Eddie Murray -- 27 in '77
Cal Ripken Jr. -- 28 in '82
Jackson Holliday -- 16 in '25 https://t.co/6CthRR4iTU
— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) September 3, 2025

That isn’t the only impressive feat that Holliday has accomplished recently. Along with his 16 home runs and counting, he has recorded 20 doubles. He became the sixth player to reach that plateau before their age-22 campaign.

With other young players such as catcher Samuel Basallo and outfielder Jeremiah Jackson also playing at a high level, the future looks incredibly bright in Baltimore. A strong foundation is being put together for the front office to build the lineup around.

This article first appeared on Baltimore Orioles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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