The “Lunchbox Hero” is taking his final curtain call.
Jackson High School graduate Travis Snider announced Thursday that he is retiring from his professional baseball career.
Snider, 33, spent parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball as a corner outfielder with the Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles. In 630 games the 6-foot, 230-pounder batted .244 with 54 home runs, 212 RBI and a .709 OPS.
“Thank you baseball,” Snider wrote via his Instagram account. “You have given me countless relationships and experiences I will cherish for the rest of my life. I am so thankful that I got to live out my childhood dream and share it with the people I love and care about. I have contemplated this day for a while but the time has finally come for me to hang up the spikes.”
Snider was one of the most-heralded high school players in Snohomish County history. As a senior in 2006 the prodigious power hitter batted .500 with 11 home runs as he led Jackson to a perfect 27-0 record and the Class 4A state championship. For his exploits he was named The Herald’s 2006 Man of the Year in Sports.
That summer he was selected in the first round, 14th overall, in the MLB Amateur Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. Snider raced through the minors, being listed as a top-10 prospect in all of baseball, and made his major-league debut in 2008 at the age of 20, a little more than two years after being drafted. Snider twice had seasons in the majors in which he reached double digits in homers, blasting 14 in 82 games with the Blue Jays in 2010 and 13 in 140 games with the Pirates in 2014.
However, Snider struggled to establish himself as a major-league regular, and he last appeared in the majors in 2015 with the Orioles. He spent the ensuing years at Triple-A, most recently playing for the Atlanta Braves’ affiliate in 2021, where he batted .174 with four homers and 15 RBI in 63 contests.
“I’m grateful for these last couple of years and the challenges you presented me that finally led me to face one thing … my EGO,” Snider wrote. “I have tied so much of my self worth into my success on the field. Without that success I have spent many waking hours and sleepless nights trying to find a way back to the show. How to fix my swing. How to be a better teammate and a leader. What I have learned through those experiences is what gives me the confidence in this transition to becoming a ‘former player.’
“It is a beautiful struggle sharing a clubhouse with 30 other dudes going to battle 100+ times a year. I will miss that the most. But I am looking forward to being a more present husband, father, family member, and friend.”
Snider was recently ranked No. 8 in The Herald’s list of the top 10 MLB players of all time who have Snohomish County ties.
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