Former Cardinal Matt Holliday and wife Leslee talk life after baseball

In this Aug. 9, 2016, file photo, St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Holliday bats during a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in St. Louis. The Yankees' major offseason moves were to sign closer Aroldis Chapman as a free agent after trading him last July and to add right-handed hitters Matt Holliday and Chris Carter.

Associated Press

Matt Holliday wowed St. Louis Cardinals fans for seven-plus years as a right-handed-hitting slugger. Unlike some of today's superstars, he wasn't flashy. But he quietly put together All-Star performances on the field with equally all-star performances off the field through his charitable work and Christian testimony.

While he's no longer hitting moon shots at Busch Stadium, Holliday and his wife, Leslee, have started a new chapter in their post-Major League Baseball life. Earlier this year I spoke with the Hollidays about life after baseball, their new podcast and how they've embraced a mentorship role for college-aged students.

Through the Christian ministry Sports Spectrum, the Hollidays started a weekly podcast, "Table 40." Table is a nod to their love for hospitality, enjoying food with friends -- many they've met through baseball. Forty is a reference to a favorite Bible passage: Psalm 40.

"It's a story of our salvation and how our salvation is received," Leslee, who just finished her biblical studies degree, told me. "It's not achieved, and so basically David's saying, 'Hey, I'm in this pit. I need help.' And he cries out to the Lord, and the Lord draws him out of that pit and places them on firm foundation and gives him a new song to sing. And I think when I read that, it really just touched my heart years ago. I felt like when we're talking to people about faith, we can all agree that that's our story. And we can all kind of come to an agreement that our salvation is a gift from the Lord. And it's a gift that is received. It's not achieved by work that we accomplish or lack thereof."

The podcast features interviews primarily with sports figures -- many of whom were Matt's teammates or players he competed against. But there are other sports represented, too, and even some popular non-sports personalities. Matt and Leslee talk with their guests about life, sports, faith and family in the weekly feature.

The podcast, Matt said, started as a recruitment device for an organization the couple supports, Pro Athlete Outreach.

"They have a conference called 'The Increase' conference every year," he said. "And we were talking about ways to get more young people involved and to reach out to the next generation of baseball players to get involved in this ministry."

It was early in the pandemic, and the Hollidays were at home, so when asked to host the podcast they agreed to do it.

"It has just been amazing to hear how much everyone has a story," Matt said. "There's adversity involved and there's overcoming adversity involved in their struggle, and there's victory. It's been really cool to hear all of these people's stories and pass them along."

Both Matt and Leslee grew up in Christian homes, but it wasn't until their late teens and early years of marriage their faith really grew.

St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday tips his cap to cheering fans as he takes his position in what will likely be his last game with the team during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, in St. Louis. The Cardinals won 10-4 but were eliminated from playoff contention after the San Francisco Giants' victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier.

Associated Press

Leslee said when Matt started his baseball career in the minors, she had a lot of time on her own.

"I just started reading every book ever written by (Christian author) Max Lucado," she said. "I really grew in those seasons of being alone. And in an unfamiliar city and not having my family around and not having my buddies around. And so I just read book after book after book. And then just slowly, slowly you start making these life changes to where you're like, 'Okay, I want my actions and my words to align in my life.'"

Matt added that God placed a number of people in their lives who have helped them grow in their Christian faith.

"We've had a lot of pastor friends and mentors and people that have poured into us," he said. "We've got a chance to see a lot of mature Christian men and women who were living a life in pursuit of holiness and of discipleship and doing God's work."

Matt said during his time in St. Louis there were several players and coaches who shared a similar Christian worldview, including Lance Berkman, Jake Westbrook and manger Mike Matheny. But one, in particular, stood out from the beginning.

"Looking back into my time with St. Louis, immediately Adam [Wainwright] and I had a connection with our faith and personality and family," he said. "We became very close very fast. And his relationship has been a huge blessing in my life. And for almost eight years, we spent a lot of time together."

He said it was not unusual for nearly 20 guys to attend team chapel services or Bible studies, where other teams might have one or two.

"We just had a really cool culture. And I think God, for whatever reason, at those times had a lot of guys that were similar in age, similar place in their life, really connecting from a spiritual side, and I'm very thankful."

After Matt's tenure in St. Louis came to a close in 2017, he signed with the Yankees and played a year in New York. He planned to play again in 2019 but said "nothing came my way that really made the sacrifice worth it."

With his children getting older, it was time to start a new chapter.

Matt is not the only Holliday to play baseball. His father was a college coach and now his brother, Josh Holliday, is the head coach of the Oklahoma State University baseball team. So Matt offered his services as a volunteer coach for the Cowboys.

It's not only an opportunity to stay involved with baseball, but Matt and Leslee also spend time mentoring college students during a unique time in their lives.

"As I think back, those are very formidable years from when you talk about 18 to 21 or 22, to have an opportunity to be around young players like that and try to help them reach their dreams and also at the same time impact their lives," Matt said. "We have the opportunity to have them over for Bible studies and treat them like they're our own kids."

While Matt's coaching and mentoring the guys, Leslee has used her training in biblical studies to mentor college-aged girls.

Would Matt Holliday ever consider becoming a coach or manager at the Major League Baseball level? It's not out of the question.

Noting the ages of his kids, he said he's happy being home with the family and going to ballgames. But at some point, if the opportunity was right, he would entertain it.

One of the reasons Leslee went back to school was to be better prepared as she looked to help grow and develop women's ministry in professional sports.

"I felt like the ministry for pro athlete wives was not what it could be," said Leslee, who is now working on a master's degree at Dallas Theological Seminary. "And so I went back to school to sort of have more educated conversations with people in leadership about how we could maybe tweak it a little bit to make it better for the women in pro sports."

Cardinals fans remember Matt Holliday's second-to-last plate appearance at Busch Stadium, an opposite field home run that garnered him a standing ovation.

For Holliday, some of the other memories that stand out include the 2011 World Series team and the relationships developed with teammates. His first All-Star game also was a big moment, in part because his son, Jackson, was able to join him. He mentioned having his brother, Josh, throw to him during home run derbies was also special.

Professional sports can provide unique opportunities. Even for the best of players, retirement comes at an early age. Matt and Leslee Holliday are making the most of their platform, whether it's hosting a podcast or mentoring college students in Oklahoma. And that's definitely a winning combination.

Lucas Presson is assistant publisher of the Southeast Missourian. Sign up to receive his newsletter at semissourian.com/newsletters.