Brian was drafted as the 8th pick overall in the 2003 MABL New
Player Draft. As a pitcher for Union College in 2002, Brian helped lead the Dutchmen
to winning the ECAC Upstate New York Championship Trophy by beating Oswego 3-2 in
10 innings.
In 2003, Brian quickly blended into the White Sox pitching rotation and became one
of the most dominating pitchers in the league. He pitched two shutouts, one versus
the Braves and the other versus the D'Backs, tying a Sox single-season record shared
by him and two others for most shutouts in a season. Houlding set a White Sox all-time
mark by striking out 7 Cubs over a 2-inning stretch on May 31st, courtesy of a passed-ball
3rd-strike. Houlding also defeated the 3-time Champion Yankees both times he faced
them. He compiled a 6-1 record over the season, and did not give up more than 4 hits
in any of his 15 appearances. Houlding finished the season 5th in the league with
72 strikeouts over 55 innings pitched with a 2.55 ERA and was one of only a handful
of rookie pitchers to be selected to the MABL All-Star team.
In 2004, Brian once again led the White Sox pitching staff with 6 wins. Houlding
pitched exclusively as a starter in 2004, which is why his game total declined, but
Brian was no less of a contributor. In all but one of his 8 starts, Brian held his
opponents to 4 hits or less. During the season, Brian became the third Sox pitcher
ever to record 100 career strikeouts, he was selected to his second consecutive MABL
All-Star Team, and he won a game for the Sox at the Cooperstown Classic at Doubleday
Field at the Baseball Hall of Fame by tossing 6 shutout innings versus the Bay State
champion Reds. Houlding's 12 career wins put him into a tie for the most career wins
ever recorded by a White Sox pitcher.
In 2005, Brian finished 8-2, setting a White Sox record for most wins in a season
and extending his record to 20-5. His 20 career wins are the most ever by a White
Sox pitcher. Without question, Brian's biggest achievement came on August 21st versus
the Royals. Brian became the second White Sox hurler to ever chuck a no-hitter. After
a lead-off walk to the Royals' TJ Unger, Houlding retired 21 straight batters for
a near perfect game. He lost the shutout due to Unger ultimately scoring via error.
Earlier in the season, Houlding tossed the third shutout of his career versus the
Mariners. And in the final game of the season versus the Astros, Brian pitched a
scoreless 7th inning to obtain the save - the first of his career.
Records: White
Sox All-Time leader, Wins (20); White Sox All-Time leader, Wins in a Season (8).
Awards: MABL Cy Young 3rd Place, 2005.
Appearances: 2005 MABL Champion, 2003, 2004 & 2005 MABL All-Star, 2003 Boston United (AZ).
MABL Career Statistics:
PITCHING
|
YEAR
|
G
|
W
|
L
|
S
|
IP
|
H
|
R
|
ER
|
BB
|
SO
|
ERA
|
WHIP
|
|
2003
|
15
|
6
|
1
|
0
|
55.0
|
41
|
22
|
20
|
29
|
72
|
2.55
|
1.27
|
|
2004
|
8
|
6
|
2
|
0
|
42.1
|
44
|
22
|
11
|
21
|
35
|
1.82
|
1.54
|
|
2005
|
11
|
8
|
2
|
1
|
59.1
|
49
|
26
|
16
|
28
|
51
|
1.89
|
1.30
|
|
career
|
34
|
20
|
5
|
1
|
156.2
|
134
|
70
|
47
|
78
|
158
|
2.10
|
1.35
|
|
