Kevin Gorman: Derek Holland makes a pitch as perfect personality for Pirates

BRADENTON, Fla. — Derek Holland didn’t blink when the first batter he faced as member of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit the second pitch he threw for a home run over the right-field fence.

When JaCoby Jones took the 33-year-old left-hander deep in a split-squad game against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday afternoon at LECOM Park, Holland reacted as if nothing had happened.

Then he struck out the rest of the side, fanning five of the next seven batters he faced. He gave up a pair of doubles, the latter on a changeup Holland wishes he could have back.

“Did it look like I even thought about that home run? No, I’ve still got to go make pitches,” Holland said. “If you’re a pitcher, you’ve got to make the next pitch. You can’t worry about what’s going on right that second. The quicker you can forget about things, the better it’s going to help you continue to be successful.”

Holland then made a quick disclaimer: “Not saying that I’m Mr. Successful. We’ve all had our ups and downs.”

It was only his first start of the spring, but Holland showed why the Pirates brought him to spring training to compete for a spot in the starting rotation — and maybe why he was available.

Holland knows about ups and downs. He has $44.5 million in career earnings and a car collection that is the envy of his teammates. He has pitched in two World Series. And he has been cut, traded and demoted to the bullpen.

Holland knows he still has stuff. Now, he just wants a chance.

“This could be a big thing for me,” Holland said. “I could turn things around, or I can throw in the towel. I was raised not to throw in the towel. If you see a guy who had a bad year last year and comes back and is trying to do everything the right way and make a point, it feeds to the other guys. You hear that hitting is contagious. Pitching is, too.”

The Pirates are hoping Holland’s pitching is as contagious as his fun-loving personality. He describes himself as a diehard Batman fan and loves Iron Man, which is why his Lamborghini and McLaren are named after the comic-book heroes.

Holland is embracing manager Derek Shelton’s mantra to be fun and purposeful, from turning stretching sessions into impromptu pickup football games to buying two dozen blonde wigs for teammates to wear in batting practice Saturday in the spring opener as a practical joke on reliever Blake Cederlind.

“When I had guys like Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus who are playing behind me and keep things loose, you notice that it makes everyone else relaxed,” Holland said of the infielders from his days with the Texas Rangers. “This is a game we can’t be so uptight. We’ve got to be relaxed and enjoy ourselves.”

The past three seasons have been a challenge in that regard for Holland. He was 7-14 with a 6.20 ERA with the Chicago White Sox before being released in September 2017 and 2-4 with a 5.90 ERA with the San Francisco Giants before being traded to the Chicago Cubs last season.

Those numbers aren’t favorable. Neither is the .288 batting average against him by right-handers nor the 19 home runs he allowed last year. Holland admits he got too fastball-happy, predictable and lost his location. Pitching out of the ’pen helped.

“As crazy as it is, I’ve had a lot of success out of the bullpen, too,” Holland said. “Numbers-wise, I was definitely better out of the bullpen last year than starting.”

But Holland is intent on winning a starting job with the Pirates.

Catching Holland for the first time, Luke Maile was impressed by how Holland reacted to serving up the homer on his second pitch. Maile praised Holland for not being afraid to pitch to contact, knowing it’s an approach that could risk giving up extra-base hits but also allow him to pitch deeper into games.

“A guy who would be the definition of not getting rattled, he’d be the one,” Maile said. “I didn’t expect anything less from him, the way he handled it. He really spotted up his fastball a few times that was just out-of-this-world command. It was super fun to catch him. He’s what I’d call an easy catch, right? You just generally put the mitt out there, and he just hits it.”

Holland’s primary competition, fellow lefty Steven Brault, was an even easier catch. He pitched only one inning against the Tigers, but six of his eight pitches went for strikes as he sandwiched two groundouts around a fly out in the third.

The best-case scenario for the Pirates is they bring out the best in each other — and maybe Mitch Keller — and the odd man out moves to the bullpen. Holland is more worried about making the Opening Day roster than anything.

Shelton finds it “very helpful” to have a veteran pitcher with Holland’s resume and, Shelton hopes, leadership to lend to a young staff. And that the quicker Holland can forget about things, the better he can help the Pirates be successful.

“He’s the most-tenured guy we have — I think he’s got a little over 10 years in the big leagues — and he knows how to pitch,” Shelton said. “He’s got a feel to pitch. He fits in with that mentality extremely well. That’s the way his personality is.”

Holland’s personality is a perfect fit for the Pirates.

Now, he has to prove his pitching is, too.