June 16, 2007

Trip to hair salon just 10 days away

RANDY YOUNGMAN
Register columnist

OMAHA, Neb. UC Irvine first baseman Taylor Holiday likes to wear his hair long. Think of a bearded Johnny Damon and his flowing locks when he played for the Red Sox.

"It's a look I like," Holiday said. "But Coach has a rule: no super-long hair."

UCI coach Dave Serrano prefers his players trim their hair to "normal length." Think of a clean-shaven Damon and his neatly trimmed coiffure after his Yankees makeover.

"I don't run a dictatorship, but we have rules here," Serrano said.

As the 2007 baseball season began in February, Holiday decided he wanted to grow his hair out, if he could get away with it, of course.

A conflict waiting to happen?

Not if you're smart and shrewd and creative — all of which describe Holiday, who graduated with honors in the international baccalaureate program at Mission Viejo High, where he won a national scholar-athlete award in 2003 for his 4.2 grade-point average. He was also a Big West scholar-athlete this year.

So, naturally, Holiday hatched a scheme.

"It was back in late February — I'm not sure of the date," he recalled. "I didn't want to cut my hair, so I went online and 'Googled' hair salons in Omaha, then 'Mapquested' the ones that came up to find one close to Rosenblatt Stadium.

"I found one called Fringes Salon and shot 'em an e-mail asking for an appointment in late June after the College World Series ended."

When Serrano heard about it — the coach thought it happened in November, before the season, but that's irrelevant now — he approached Holiday to find out if it was true. He wasn't about to tempt fate, so the curly locks were allowed to live.

"He let it slide," Holiday said.

"I told him I'd be the happiest guy on earth if he got to cut his hair in Omaha," Serrano recalled, laughing.

Several months later, a long-haired Holiday and his UCI teammates made it to Omaha, for the first time in school history, and open the College World Series today at Rosenblatt Stadium against Arizona State.

"This is a dream come true, just to be in Omaha with all of the guys," Holiday said.

And all of his shoulder-length hair.

"It's floppy, it's shaggy, it bounces around when he's on the field," Serrano said. "But what can you say? He's our Energizer Bunny. He brings energy, enthusiasm and leadership to our team. And he's had an outstanding year for us; he's one of the main reasons we've had the success we've had."

Apparently, Holiday was determined not to break his appointment. He begins CWS play with a 22-game hitting streak, ranks second on the team with a .353 batting average, first with 66 runs, first with 89 hits and third with 41 RBIs, out of the leadoff spot.

He's batting .417 (10 for 24) for the fourth-ranked Anteaters (45-15-1) during their 5-0 postseason run and was named Most Outstanding Player during the Austin Regional.

Could it get any better for Holiday?

Actually, yes.

His first CWS game will be against Arizona State, where Holiday began his college career before transferring to UCI after the 2005 season.

"It's unbelievable, really, to get a chance to play against my old teammates," he said. "Sweet irony, I guess."

Holiday spent two years with the Sun Devils, red-shirting in 2004 before deciding to transfer.

"It just wasn't the right place; it wasn't a good fit for me," said Holiday, who reportedly didn't see eye to eye with ASU coach Pat Murphy. "I still have a lot of friends on the team — guys like Eric Sogard, Rocky Laguna and Andrew Romine — and we'll probably go out to dinner while we're here."

Interestingly, Holiday also is close friends with Cal State Fullerton center fielder Clark Hardman, his former Mission Viejo High teammate, who was instrumental in steering Holiday to UCI.

"I talked to Clark (about Holiday)," said Serrano, the pitching coach on Cal State Fullerton's 2004 national championship team, which included Hardman, "and he told me Taylor was a winner, a guy who was going to play hard and somebody I would want on my team.

"He was exactly right. And I'm going to thank Clark when I see him this week."

That could happen soon. If the Anteaters and Titans win their CWS openers today — or if they both lose — they would resume their Big West rivalry Monday at Rosenblatt.

"I talked to Clark as soon as they got in town," Holiday said. "It would be a dream come true for us if we get to play against each other in the College World Series."

If all dreams come true, Holiday will be sitting down in a barber's chair at Fringes Salon in 10 days, probably with ESPN's cameras rolling.

"And I'll be sitting right next to him," Serrano said, laughing. "I think we'll bring the whole team there. I'm going to make sure he lives up to his end of the bargain."