KC Royals: Greg Holland Still A Royals Legend

The 2015 season was full of all sorts of ups and downs for the KC Royals. One of which saw their All-Star closer Greg Holland go on the disabled list.

Despite Greg Holland‘s less than stellar year in 2015, the guy still holds a piece in Kansas City Royals history. He was this team’s closer for two full seasons and most of the 2015 season, and gave the fans confidence that he was going to close the game out and come away with a victory.

Not only was Holland the closer for this team, he was one of the best closers in Kansas City Royals history (Dan Quisenberry will likely always be the best).

The final man in the H-D-H tandem, Greg Holland started to turn heads during the 2014 season. He pitched in 65 games with 62.1 innings of work and posted a 1.44 ERA and had a total of 46 saves.

His poise in the playoffs that year was even more impressive, as he pitched 11 innings throughout the span of 15 games (the only games he did not pitch in were Games 1, 4, 5, and 6 of the World Series) and only gave up one run off of four hits. His playoff ERA was an astounding 0.82 and he had seven saves during that time.

As good as his regular season was, however, it still wasn’t Holland’s best: 2013 was his best year as a closer for the Royals.

The 2013 season saw Holland take the mound in 68 games in 67.0 innings of work with 47 saves and a 1.22 ERA. Both the 2013 and 2014 seasons resulted in a trip to the All-Star Game for Greg Holland, and that came as a shock to no one.

While 2015 wasn’t the best for Holland, he still had an okay year when you consider he was pitching with a bad arm for several weeks. He pitched in 48 games with 44.2 innings of work and ended the year with a 3.83 ERA and 32 saves.

It was pretty obvious that something was wrong with Holland just months into the season. His command on the mound was gone, and it felt risky sending him out to close tight games. That didn’t use to be the case for the former tenth round pick.

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With Wade Davis dominating as the eighth inning guy, it was the right time to move him into that closer role, and later, fans found out exactly why Holland wasn’t pitching like his normal self.

The Royals may not have missed Holland too much once he went on the disabled list considering how much of a stud Wade Davis was (and still is), but let it be known that this guy is one of the best closers in team history.

Any time the Royals were leading in the ninth inning, you knew Greg Holland could go out there and get the job done. He showed amazing grit on the mound, and watching him close out games was so much fun.

Next: Ten Facts All Royals Fans Should Know

Holland was one of the beginning pieces in this now stagnant bullpen, and while he might not be a piece of it next year, he’ll always be considered one of the driving forces of the Royals’ incredible playoff run in 2014.

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KC Royals: Greg Holland Still A Royals Favorite

By Leigh Oleszczak | Dec 30, 2015

The 2015 season was full of all sorts of ups and downs for the KC Royals. One of which saw their All-Star closer Greg Holland go on the disabled list.

More from KC Kingdom