Joe Holstedt: A life of service

Joe Holstedt was a little nervous for this interview. He’s the most gregarious, loud, overtly friendly person in the Emeralds’ orbit. But the very nature of his job forces him into the background, where he operates far more comfortably. Watching the game — the man only called upon by injury.

Quite simply, there’s a lot to the Emeralds’ athletic trainer than meets the eye.

From his long beard, tinted sunglasses and the country music that blares from his white SUV, he’s about as subtle as an air horn — or an airplane.

So, he was a little uneasy at first about accepting any sort of spotlight and allowing the selfless job he does to be on display for the world to see. “You want to write a story about me?” he asked when approached with the story.

But, the thing about Holstedt is there’s even more that meets the ears.

“I love Joe, he’s the best… just don’t tell him that,” second baseman Andrew Kachel said.

“I like to be tough on the guys. It helps them to grow as a player and play with a little discomfort. It’s definitely something I learned while serving,” Holstedt said.

This is who Holstedt is — an easygoing person in a profession where it's easy to be uptight and serious. The man has a brain that houses so much knowledge and hilarity.e can’t help but regurgitate it.

“You might have to edit out some of the things that I said,” he said even before the interview took place.

No editing necessary, Joe. You’re truly one of a kind.

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The thing about Pastor’s kids is that they are either “really good, or really really bad kids.”

Holstedt can vouch, It’s safe to say the 40-year-old former Army infantryman was the latter growing up.

The self-proclaimed “pain in the ass,” was always ornery and in trouble. He was always on the teacher's bad side too, despite his scholarship-earning grades.

Holstedt was always looking for trouble. That same love for fishing and hunting that has remained in him manifested in his early years. He was always running around, looking for chaos and making friends outside, instead of studying or going to class.

It wasn’t until he made that fateful choice to enlist, and join the Army that he grew up. The rest, they say, is history.

“I was a nightmare… and I joined the Army almost out of spite,” Holstedt said stoically. “But I was always smart.”

You don’t say. After serving for 12 years — his time in the Army ended due to medical reasons — he went to college, graduating from the Universities of Nebraska and South Dakota. He then went on to work everywhere from independent baseball to D-1 football before being hired this past offseason by the organization.

It’s fitting he now helps young players almost as chaotic as he was. MILB players are forced into advanced adulthood, and finding their way in a profession created to weed out the weak.

“These guys have a lot going on, from organizational demands to families to injuries, " Holstedt said. “I just want to help these guys be their best on and off the field.”

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He once was a part of a 40-man platoon, serving for 12 years as an infantryman. “People always ask me, ‘Did you serve as a medic in the military?’ and I’ll say, ‘No, I solved people’s problems in a different way.”

Now, his work starts around noon, on a good day.

After settling in, answering emails and occasionally folding laundry in his 15-minute “down” period, Holstedt hangs around in his office before players' prep work begins at 1:30, a good four and a half hours before first pitch.

The work ranges from basic tape jobs to stretching and rehab or maintenance exercises. He’ll then send injury and player reports to the Giants’ front office representatives and file other miscellaneous paperwork — on the day of this interview, we drove to pick up an Ems player's MRI, just one more random task that popped up unexpectedly.

When the team is on the field pregame, so is he. “It helps me see everything, if a player is running differently or anything,” he says. An hour or so before first pitch, the night's starting pitcher will head into his office to get stretched out.

His in-game work is fairly straightforward — watch the game and be ready for any injury that may come. His responsibilities only vary as follows: If a visiting player is already hurt, meaning the away team’s athletic trainer is gone — he’s now responsible for all players on the field.

Just like any coach, the wins and losses weigh on him too — even in the minor leagues.

“We aren’t ripping into them… but at some point, we need to win games. That’s something that helps them move up and down, and is a culture thing,” Holstedt said. “At the end of the day, it’s all about development, some of the other coaches will talk to them if they read a ball wrong or something like that. But it’s not the end all be all.”

Given the nature of his job, mechanical adjustments don’t exactly pertain to him. But, from stretching his players’ shoulder mobility, to pitchers’ lower-halves ready to “eccentrically load” — he still plays a major part in getting players ready to make that change.

No other team in baseball has someone quite like him. Here, with the Emeralds, him, and his service — are a necessity.

“I just want to help these guys achieve their dreams, any way I can,” Holstedt said. “I always liked helping my soldiers. Now I can do what I can to make these players better, and do a service to them.”