Dennis Holmberg
Dennis Nels Holmberg
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 190 lb.
- School Brewton-Parker College
- High School Baker High School
- Born August 2, 1951 in Fremont, NE USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Dennis Holmberg was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 58th round of the 1969 amateur draft. He didn't sign, and was drafted in the 5th round the next January by the Milwaukee Brewers. He played eight seasons in the Brewers' organization. He began his professional career with the 1970 Newark Co-Pilots, hitting .262/~.402/.350 while splitting his time between third base and the outfield. In 1971, he was a part-time third baseman with the Danville Warriors and batted .220/~.357/.396, showing good walk ability and power (9 HR in 182 AB) but not enough contact. The walks and power helped him remain in the system and in '72, Holmberg hit only .203/~.315/.308 with the San Antonio Brewers. In 1973, Dennis put up a .291/~.395/.455 line in 20 games with Danville but just .162/~.263/.214 for the Shreveport Captains.
At age 23, Dennis played the full year at Danville and hit .246/~.362/.417 while continuing to split time between third and the outfield. In 1975, Holmberg hammered out a career-high 15 homers and drove in 65 for the Burlington Bees. His home run total was third in the Midwest League behind the legendary Moe Hill and minor league star Willie Aikens. Holmberg also led third baseman in the MWL with 38 errors, for a .881 fielding percentage. Pedro Guerrero beat him out as the league's All-Star 3B.
In 1976, Dennis returned to Burlington and hit .299/~.402/.500 but did not play enough to qualify for the batting title and Art Fischetti beat him out for the All-Star nod at third. Holmberg completed his playing career with the 1977 Holyoke Millers by hitting .186/~.222/.256 in 16 games.
After his playing career ended, he became a longtime member of the Toronto Blue Jays organization. Holmberg began his managerial career in the Brewers chain with the Newark Co-Pilots in 1977. He moved to the Blue Jays chain as coach of the Dunedin Blue Jays in 1978, then manager of the Medicine Hat Blue Jays in 1979. He jumped to the Kinston Eagles in 1980, then managed the Florence Blue Jays from 1981 to 1984. He was a coach for the Syracuse Chiefs in 1985 and manager of Medicine Hat in 1986. Holmberg coached the Dunedin Blue Jays from 1987 to 1989, then managed the club from 1990 to 1993. He moved to the major leagues as the Blue Jays bullpen coach in 1994 and 1995. Holmberg returned to Dunedin yet again as manager in 1996 and began 1997 in the same capacity until he was unexpectedly promoted to coach the Syracuse Sky Chiefs on July 24th. He returned to Dunedin as a coach during the 1998-2001 seasons. Holmberg managed the Auburn Doubledays of the New York-Penn League from 2002-2010, leading the team to the best record in the league in 2003 and 2004. Due to his success and longevity, the Doubledays eventually retired his jersey. Holmberg then managed the Bluefield Blue Jays in 2011-2018 and GCL Blue Jays in 2019. He was slated to return to the GCL in 2020 before COVID-19 shut down the minor league season. Holmberg completed his career as a coach for the FCL Blue Jays in 2021-2022. The next year he moved into a front office role as a Special Advisor to Player Development.
Holmberg was known for a quirky management style such as having a green alien creature in his office and displaying flags representing all the players' home countries while in Bluefield. When not in uniform, he was usually wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
In 2005, the Milwaukee Brewers drafted Kenny Holmberg, Dennis' son in the 22nd round.
In 1985, when Holmberg was a coach for the Syracuse Chiefs, his wife Diane was driving with their two kids when a teenage kid hit the car. Diane has been in a vegetative state to this day. The family still visits her in Norwalk, CT regularly.
Sources: 1971-1978 Baseball Guides
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