She was known to every Rangers fan, broadcaster and player -- always banging her drum from her seat behind home plate. She was Sister Frances Evans, a nun and Texas superfan, who passed away at the age of 90 on Friday .
Though he's now a White Sox, and was pitching in Kansas City on Sunday, Derek Holland remembered his time with her fondly from the eight years that he was with the Rangers. He posted to Instagram before his start to "remember someone special."
This iframe is not allowedAnd then, as he has written "Granny" on the back of the mound since his grandmother passed away in Spring Training, Holland added Sister Frances' name.
"She was at every single game," Holland told MLB.com's Scott Merkin. "She always had a drum, she would always beat it. It was really cool as a player to hear that -- you knew it was her. Unfortunately, she passed away and I wanted to make sure she got the recognition she deserved. Obviously I'm on a different team but respect is where it's made and she deserves that. My prayers are up with her family and everyone affected by it."
"I wish I could have done a better job today for her but this is how the game is," Holland said after pitching 4 2/3 innings and allowing three runs in Chicago's 5-4 loss . "The main thing is to pay respect to her family and her friends and all those around her."
Derek Holland is not a star player in major league baseball. His career earned run average as a starting pitcher in the American League is mediocre at best (4.42). This year he plays for a losing team, the Chicago White Sox, and he hasn't done much to help them get better.
Nonetheless Holland was thoughtful enough to remember a fan from another city from when he was playing on another team, the Texas Rangers. A 90 year old nun who was a big Ranger fan passed away recently, and Holland scrawled her name on the pitcher's mound as he started the game the White Sox played in Kansas City Sunday.
Nice story.
Very touching story. Nice to see people being thoughtful.
Kudos to Derek Holland.