Oakland Park Baseball

Can someone please explain how this guy got a hold?

I assume you're talking about Walker, not Rincon or Reyes. My guess would be that Walker entered when the Tigers were still up 3-2. He then walked a guy and was taken out. The Tigers still had the lead when he handed the ball over to Zumaya. Zumaya then blew the save, allowing the runner Walker had faced and then walked to score. So, while Walker didn't get the job done and allowed what became the tying run to reach base, he technically handed the ball to the closer as a setup man with the save situation still intact. And that, until further refining, is what a hold is defined as. I completely agree with you that it's pretty much bogus to give Walker anything but criticism, because he obviously didn't get the job done.

Hard to believe this stat has been tracked for 20 years and I had NEVER heard of it... Learned something new... Thanks Park Baseball community

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hold_(baseball)

Yeah, it's interesting. That definition notes that the pitcher gets at least an out, yet I've definitely seen boxscores where pitchers were awarded holds despite not getting even 1/3 of an inning pitched. So that would seem to suggest that there's some scorekeeper's discretion.

From what I've seen, the pitcher only has to make it through one plate appearance to be eligible for the HLD.