Rockies receive many contributions, but Holliday tops

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DENVER -- Matt Holliday must wait until next month to find out if he's the National League MVP.

Rockies Top Dog

Holliday

Matt Holliday put his name in the baseball encyclopedia. Here are the last 10 NLCS MVPs:

Year	Player	Team
2007	Matt Holliday	Rockies
2006	Jeff Suppan	Cardinals
2005	Roy Oswalt	Astros
2004	Albert Pujols	Cardinals
2003	Ivan Rodriguez	Marlins
2002	Benito Santiago	Giants
2001	Craig Counsell	D-backs
2000	Mike Hampton	Mets
1999	Eddie Perez	Braves
1998	Sterling Hitchcock	Padres

In the meantime, he's already got a trophy to put on his mantle.

Holliday hit a three-run homer that helped the Colorado Rockies complete a four-game sweep in the NL championship series Monday night with a 6-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The slugger finished 5-for-15 (.333) with two homers and four RBIs in the series, earning him MVP honors.

"It took everybody," Holliday said. "This award could have gone to 15 guys. I don't deserve it. The fact that I got it is great, but I want to share it with my teammates. They deserve it. If I could get somebody to cut it into 25 pieces, I might try that."

He has four homers in the postseason. Could the NL MVP be next?

Holliday has the credentials. He won league titles by batting .340 with 137 RBIs this season, in addition to hitting 36 homers. He became the third player since 1967 to lead a league in batting average and RBIs.

Holliday also led the NL in hits (216), extra-base hits (92), total bases (386) and doubles (50). The team was 43-15 this season when he had two or more hits.

"It's unbelievable. I never dreamed I'd have this opportunity. With this group of guys, I'm so excited to be a part of it," he said.

Holliday said the Rockies never discussed their incredible streak as they rattled off 21 wins in 22 games.

"Mostly, what we talk about is fantasy football," Holliday said with a laugh. "We don't talk much about baseball. This club has had a great focus all season long."

And, it seemed as though someone different came through for the Rockies every night.

In the series clincher Monday, rookie Seth Smith became the latest unheralded player to chip in. He was inserted into the game as a pinch hitter in the fourth inning and blooped a two-out, two-run double to left that landed just inside the line.

Smith had just eight major league at-bats coming into the postseason. According to Elias Sports Bureau, he was tied for the fifth-fewest at-bats before his first postseason plate appearance.

Rockies manager Clint Hurdle is getting spoiled with all the different players coming through in the clutch during the postseason.

• Yorvit Torrealba hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer against Arizona on Sunday night.

• Willy Taveras pushed across the deciding run in Game 2 by drawing a bases-loaded walk in the 11th inning. He also made a diving catch that preserved a late lead.

• Jeff Baker had a pinch-hit single that drove in the go-ahead run in the series clincher against Philadelphia.

And those are just a few.

"I don't think there's anybody in there that hasn't contributed -- from top to bottom,'' Hurdle said.

The Rockies are hoping the trend spills over into the World Series.

"This has been a great ride," first baseman Todd Helton said. "We're not done yet. We're going to keep it going."

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

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