Festivities, 'HDH' bobbleheads headline big 2014 KC Royals weekend celebration

Greg Holland put his name in the record books but didn't reach the summit

Holland debuted in Kansas City in 2010 but, like Herrera, his early tenure was rocky. He struggled to find consistency and to carve out a role for himself, but as the Royals became relevant in 2013 for the first time in decades, Holland figured things out. He set a new club record with 47 saves and staked his claim alongside franchise icons Dan Quisenberry and Jeff Montgomery.

The next year, Holland quickly put to rest any fears that his breakout season was a fluke. He saved 46 games, and went 1-3 with a 1.44 ERA and 0.914 WHIP.

And he might have been even better in October. He saved seven games in the postseason, a record he holds with several others. He saved all four of the club's ALCS victories, a feat no AL reliever had achieved since Dennis Eckersley did it for Oakland in 1988, and one no major leaguer had accomplished since John Wetteland saved four in the 1996 World Series.

We'll never know how many saves Holland might have recorded in KC's 2015 run to a championship — the September elbow injury that took him out of action required Tommy John Surgery, so he missed the rest of the regular season and the postseason. Holland was having another excellent year but had to watch from the dugout as the Royals won it all.

Holland missed all of 2016, but bounced back and won the 2017 NL Comeback Player of the Year award with Colorado. He was a bit of a baseball nomad in the following seasons but, like Davis, ended up back in Kansas City. And he pitched well in 2020 before he and Davis both lost steam in 2021.

Unfortunately, Holland and Davis couldn't find the magic a second time, perhaps because they were lacking Herrera. There was a time, though, when together the HDH trio was practically invincible.

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