Talk about a harsh introduction.
Last month in his professional baseball debut for the advanced rookie league Pulaski (Va.) Blue Jays, Travis Snider endured a miserable outing: 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
It was a rare disappointment for Snider, a 2006 Jackson High School graduate who in May helped lead his prep team to a state championship and in June became a millionaire two weeks after the Toronto Blue Jays selected him with the 14th pick of the Major League Baseball draft.
But Snider, 18, wasn’t down for long.
Nearly one month into his pro career, Snider is back on track and soaking up the grinding-but-exciting life of a minor leaguer. He lives nearly 2,800 miles from home and spends more hours on a bus than a celebrity-tour guide in Hollywood, but all in all things are going pretty well.
“It’s been a lot of fun, man. I’m enjoying it,” Snider said July 21 during a phone interview. He was in Johnson City, Tenn., as Pulaski geared up for an Appalachian League series 10 miles away against the Elizabethton Twins.
After a slow start that had a lot to do with his month-long break from baseball following the high school season, Snider, listed at 5-foot-11 and 230 pounds, is adjusting to tougher pitching and has an upbeat outlook. In his first 21 games (through July 20), the left-handed hitting outfielder hit .288 (23-for-80) with three home runs, three doubles and 16 runs batted in.
He got his first hit June 28, in his second game, and on July 2 drilled his first home run, an opposite-field grand slam in the 10th inning of a 13-7 victory over the Kingsport (Tenn.) Mets. It was Snider’s first slam since he hit one against Meadowdale High during his junior season at Jackson.
Snider smashed another slam July 8 in a 9-3 triumph over the Princeton (W.Va.) Devil Rays. The two-out blast traveled an estimated at 400 feet and soared over the 23-foot right-field wall at Pulaski’s Calfee Park.
Asked to explain what’s most different about pro ball, Snider said he usually sees one or two pitches to hit per at-bat, compared to three or four in high school. So if you miss one early in the count, he said, you’re in trouble. As a result, Snider has struck out more often (24 times) than he had hoped, “but it’s my first year and those things are gonna happen,” he said.
Another challenge: Snider is the fourth-youngest Pulaski player and many of the pitchers he faces are 22 or older — and some of them throw fastballs that reach 96 mph.
Snider said he misses his friends and family in Snohomish County, but he’s clicked well with teammates. Two weeks ago he moved into a rental house in Dublin (about 7 miles from Pulaski) with four teammates. They’ve already had some great poker games.
Pulaski has also jelled well on the field, compiling an 18-9 record through June 20 that had the Blue Jays in first place in the Appalachian League East Division.
With a daily schedule that generally has him at the ballpark from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. or on a bus for long road trips, Snider clearly stays busy. It’s tiring sometimes, he said, but it’s still everything he had hoped for.
Said Snider, “It’s a grind (but) it’s awesome. I love it.”
Mike Cane writes for The Herald in Everett.
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