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On the giant scoreboard at Coors Field, Matt Holliday plays larger than life.

The video montage lavishes the crowd with images: Holliday slugging a homer, or sliding into second base in a cloud of dust, or celebrating with teammates. And then there’s the grin. It’s joyful, natural, all-American. It’s reminiscent of – dare we say it? – another Oklahoma native. A guy by the name of Mickey Mantle.

It’s those images, and the fact Holliday is a 26-year- old slugger who can hit the ball a country mile, that could make him Colorado’s next big sports celebrity.

“I think Holliday has a little bit of that western, gunslinger image,” said Steve Sander of Pure Brand Sports and Entertainment, a Denver-based marketing company. “That plays well here. And he seems like the guy who will go the extra mile, like a John Elway or a Peter Forsberg. Fans here have an affection for that.”

But as Holliday prepares for his All-Star Game debut Tuesday in Pittsburgh, celebrity isn’t stalking him – yet.

“I don’t get recognized very much,” Holliday said. “Every now and then somebody will know who I am. And it’s nice when somebody asks for an autograph or something. I try to oblige. I try to be myself. I never want to be thought of as someone who takes all of this for granted.”

Standing 6-feet-4, weighing 235 pounds, and equipped with Popeye forearms, Holliday cuts an impressive figure in Rockies pinstripes.

“He’s a very, very handsome young man,” said Patti Shyne, a Denver-based media consultant who polishes the image of television anchormen and women. She doesn’t know Holliday from Boston’s David “Big Papi” Ortiz, but she knows charisma when she sees it.

“I watched an interview of Holliday and he came across as humble and very real,” she said. “He seems so normal, and in today’s day and age, there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.”

An ordinary Joe

Peek into the Rockies’ clubhouse after a victory and the Holliday image turns into a Norman Rockwell painting. That’s when Holliday tosses baseballs to his 2 1/2-year-old son, Jackson, who gleefully knocks pitches all over the clubhouse.

Aside from Jackson, and Holliday’s wife, Leslee, his biggest fan has to be longtime Rockies season-ticket holder Marie Concilio. Her e-mail address begins: Matt-Holliday-addict.

“I’ve watched Matt since he was in Asheville (N.C.) in A-ball,” Concilio said. “Yeah, he’s handsome, but I picked him out early because he seems like an all-around good guy. You can really see that.”

Sander said Holliday is not a “pretty boy, like the Yankees’ Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez.” But, he adds, Holliday has the potential for mass appeal if he gains more visibility. Some of that will come at the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh.

The Rockies are well aware of Holliday’s star power, but view him as just one part of the ongoing advertising package dubbed “Gen R.”

“From a marketing perspective, we have veered more toward the team concept, and I think that’s where Matt fits,” said Jill Roberts, Rockies senior director of advertising and publicity. “Most of these guys came up through the minors together to build this team, and it’s a pretty humble group of guys. I think that’s why it’s such a refreshing team. We know Matt’s having a great season, and we think that’s reflected in our Generation R campaign.”

Holliday is not actively pursuing the commercials and endorsements that are the fruits of celebrity. But he won’t shy away from the benefits of fame, either.

“I guess I would handle it as it comes,” he said. “It would be flattering, if it comes. But at the same time, that’s not why I play the game. I play baseball because I love it, and because I’ve been blessed to play it.”

Holliday’s father, Tom, the University of Texas pitching coach and former Oklahoma State head coach, nurtured his son’s love of the game, as well his son’s country-style politeness.

No “ceiling” to talent

Drafted by the Rockies out of Stillwater High School in 1998, Holliday is in his eighth full season of professional baseball. The stardom Holliday hinted at last season, when he knocked in 64 runs in the second half, is in full bloom. Through the first 86 games, Holliday led the Rockies with 16 home runs and hit a team-high .334, fourth in the National League.

“The guy has no ceiling, that’s a given,” said Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, the current face of the franchise. “His approach at the plate is unbelievable.”

Sander, who helped sell the Rockies during the formative years when the Blake Street Bombers were launching homers in front of sellout crowds, believes Holliday is a potential marketing gold mine.

“I’d like to see the Rockies put their young personalities, like Holliday, out there, front and center,” Sander said. “I think now is the time.”

The Rockies say they are doing that.

“Through profiles on our TV and radio networks and a lot of in-the-park promotions, we are letting our fans get to know players like Matt better,” Roberts said.

There is, however, an inherent problem to cashing in on Holliday’s appeal, or replacing Helton as the future face of the franchise: He might not be around.

Holliday becomes eligible for arbitration this winter, meaning next year he’s likely to command a salary 10 times the $500,000 he’s making this season. Plus, he changed agents last winter and is represented by Scott Boras, who is known for delivering megacontracts. That might hinder the Rockies’ chances of signing Holliday to a long-term contract.

Holliday said he loves playing in Colorado and wants to be part of the Rockies’ future. But he also acknowledges the reality of his business, which means he could someday find himself on a bigger baseball stage, such as New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.

“That wouldn’t change me,” he said. “I am who I am. Really, my life is not that complex. I come to the ballpark and I play ball. Then Jackson and I play for a little while, then we get Leslee and go home. Fame is not going to change that.”

Rising star

The career path of 26-year-old Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday:

June 1998: Selected by Colorado in the seventh round of the annual June draft out of Stillwater (Okla.) High School.

Summer 1998: Hit .342 with five home runs and 23 RBIs in 32 games in the Arizona Rookie League.

1999: Played third base for Single-A Asheville (N.C.), hitting .264 with 16 homers and 64 RBIs.

2000: Played third for High-A Salem (N.C.), hitting .274 with 28 doubles and 72 RBIs.

2001: Hit .275 with 11 homers and 52 RBIs in 72 games at Salem. Season cut short because of elbow surgery. Began his transition to outfield, playing 30 games there.

2002: Playing full time in left field, hit .276 with 10 homers and 64 RBIs for Double-A Carolina.

2003: In his second season in Double-A, hit .253 with 28 doubles, 12 homers and 72 RBIs for the Tulsa Drillers.

2004: Began the season with Triple-A Colorado Springs but joined the Rockies on April 16 because of injuries to Larry Walker and Preston Wilson. Immediately became the Rockies’ full-time left fielder, hitting .290 with 31 doubles, 14 homers and 57 RBIs in 121 games. Named to a number of all-rookie teams.

2005: Hit .307 with 19 homers and 87 RBIs, despite missing nearly a month with a broken right pinkie.

2006: Played for the United States in the inaugural World Baseball Classic and was named to the National League all-star team.

Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-820-5459 or psaunders@denverpost.com.