The Colorado Rockies selected Holliday in the seventh round of the 1998 MLB draft from high school in Oklahoma, where he also starred as a highly touted quarterback prospect. He debuted in MLB in 2004, becoming the Rockies' starting left fielder and a middle of the lineup presence. In 2006, he became the 19th player ever to reach 195 hits, 30 home runs, 45 doubles, 115 runs and 110 runs batted in (RBI) in one season. The next season, he won the NL batting title, September National League Player of the Month honors and NLCS MVP as the Rockies won 21 of 22 games at the end of the regular season and in the playoffs en route to their first World Series appearance. In the first of four consecutive NLCS appearances starting in 2011, he batted .435 with a .652 slugging percentage in the 2011 NLCS on his way to winning his first World Series ring with the Cardinals. In 2014, he became just the fifth player in MLB history to amass nine consecutive seasons of at least 20 home runs, 30 doubles, 75 RBI and 80 runs scored each season.