Darren Holmes

Darren Lee Holmes

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 199 lb.
• High School T. C. Roberson High School
• Debut September 1, 1990
• Final Game September 27, 2003
• Born April 25, 1966 in Asheville, NC USA

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Biographical Information

Darren Holmes was signed as a 16th round pick in the 1984 amateur draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers and scout Jim Garland. After gradually rising through the Dodgers minor league system, Holmes made his major league debut on September 1, 1990. He would go on to pitch in the major leagues for 13 seasons with a number of teams. Holmes was the first closer in the history of the Colorado Rockies, saving 25 games in 1993 after being drafted from the Milwaukee Brewers in the expansion draft. Overall he earned a 35-33 record with 59 saves and an ERA of 4.25. Holmes pitched in 557 games, all but six of them in relief.

Holmes was named by Sports Illustrated as having received a shipment of Human Growth Hormone in 2003. He admitted to receiving the HGH, but denied ever taking it.

A decade after retiring, Holmes returned to baseball as a pitching coach for the A.C. Reynolds High School Rockets in 2013-2014. In the latter year he also worked with the Atlanta Braves as a Biomechanics Pitching Consultant. These endeavors led to an appointment as bullpen coach of the Colorado Rockies in 2015 where he stayed through the 2019 season.

In 2020, he moved to the Baltimore Orioles in the same capacity. His title changed to assistant pitching coach in 2021, but with the same basic responsibilities. Holmes continued in this role through the 2023 season when the Orioles won the American League East division crown, but left after that to become bullpen coach of the Chicago Cubs in 2024.

Notable Achievement

• Won a World Series with the New York Yankees in 1998 (he did not play in the World Series)