Earl Snyder

Earl Snyder was a professional baseball player for 10 years, and he did it well by almost any definition. It’s unusual, then, that the highlight of his career came when he played one generally unmemorable game for the Boston Red Sox during the 2004 season. It earned him that most cherished of baseball possessions: a championship ring.

Earl Clifford Snyder was born on May 6, 1976, in New Britain, Connecticut. He stayed close by as he attended Plainville High School, which is just west of New Britain. Earl followed in his father’s footsteps at Plainville, as his dad, Earl Jr., developed a love of softball during this time at that school. He served in the Army in Vietnam and was an engineer in the manufacturing industry. Earl Jr. died in 2014. Earl’s mother, Rovena, and grandfather Earl Sr. (he went by “Grandpa Tickey” in the family) both died around 2003. Rovena Snyder was only 51.1 

At Plainville, Snyder was part of something of a high-school dynasty. The Blue Devils had split two state championship baseball games in 1992 and 1993, and they didn’t miss a beat in Snyder’s senior year in 1994. Earl was a very good player, but not a great one. Plainville won the Connecticut title game over Holy Cross-Waterbury, 10-6 in 10 innings, as the infielder hit a huge home run early in the game. It’s a blast that is still remembered, as it soared over the fence in Middletown’s Palmer Field and ripped through some trees before finally reaching the ground. It was his fifth homer of the season, during which he hit .378. It was a small step up from a .361 average as a junior in 1993.2 In 2012 Snyder eventually was honored for his baseball achievements with his induction into the Plainville Sports Hall of Fame.3

Snyder took his baseball talents to the University of Hartford. It’s fair to say that the relationship worked out well for both sides. “I stopped being lazy, and began to work out,” he said much later.4 Snyder is called “the most productive offensive performer in the history of the baseball program” in his biography for the school’s athletic Hall of Fame.5 He was the team’s most valuable player three times, and was all-Northeast, all-New England, and all-conference in those 1996-98 seasons. Snyder broke many of the school records set by Jeff Bagwell – a future Baseball Hall of Famer – by hitting 53 home runs (18 as a senior), scoring 146 runs, and driving in 173 runs. He’s second on the Hawks’ all-time list with 222 hits, and third in program history in batting average (.374). That set up some comparisons between Snyder and Bagwell, who admittedly was a hard act to follow.  “If it was Joe Schmo and we had the same numbers, it wouldn’t be a big deal,” Snyder said as a junior. “It’s nice, I guess.”6

While Snyder found personal success at Hartford, the team didn’t do as well. Jim Bretz coached the team for Earl’s first three seasons, and he averaged about 16 wins a season. Bob Nenna took over as coach in 1998, and Hartford went 13-32. The Hawks’ regular seasons weren’t enough baseball for Snyder. During the summers, he played with Middletown and Danbury in the New England Collegiate Baseball League and the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Snyder, who stood an even 6 feet tall, graduated in 1998 with a degree in criminal justice, and he no doubt spent part of the summer wondering if he had done enough in college to be drafted by a professional team. The first round saw the selection of such players as Mark Mulder, J.D. Drew, Brad Lidge, and CC Sabathia. Snyder was selected on the second day by the New York Mets in the 36th round – “the nosebleed section,” as he put it later.7 Snyder was one of three players in that round who made it to the majors; the others were Erick Eckenstahler and Tim Olson. Snyder signed with the Mets a couple of days later for $1,000, and started a pro career that mostly saw him at first and third base although also included work at shortstop and the outfield, and as designated hitter.

Snyder’s first professional home was Pittsfield in the New York-Penn League. He led the team in home runs (11) and RBIs (40) while hitting .262 in a team-best 71 games. The Pittsfield Mets went 35-41 in the short-season Class-A league; the only other future major leaguer on the roster was Ty Wigginton. One of the season’s personal highlights for Snyder came when his grandfather came up the Interstate from Connecticut to see Earl play. “We took my father up there,” said Lawrence Snyder, Earl’s uncle. “That’s when he hit a home run. My father beamed about him. Somebody actually shagged the ball and gave it to my father. It was like the most glorious moment in my father’s life.”8

The 1999 season was even better for Snyder, who spent the season with the Capital City Bombers (Columbia, South Carolina) in the South Atlantic League. Snyder was the top Bomber in homers with 28 and in RBIs with 97. He hit .268 for a team that went 83-58 and won the Central Division title. Snyder’s play demanded that the Mets take a closer look at him. “The bigger prospect guys are prioritized in the beginning, and rightly so,” he said years later. “I had a couple of good seasons in the beginning when I first got into pro ball to kick the door in a little bit, to be pushed along a little further than the Mets envisioned for me.”9

In 2000 Snyder moved up another notch to High Class-A ball with the St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League. His batting average improved to .282, and he had 93 RBIs to go with 25 homers. Snyder might be remembered in St. Petersburg for a particularly odd reason. Whenever he made an out there for St. Lucie, he was serenaded over the public-address system by the song “Goodbye Earl,” made popular by the Dixie Chicks.10

Snyder wasn’t serenaded very often that season, helping his team to the division title as the Mets went 81-58. He was awarded the Mets’ Nelson Doubleday Award as his team’s Most Valuable Player for the second straight season. At the age of 25, Snyder finally reached Double-A ball in 2001, pounding out what had become another typically good year: .282/20 homers/75 RBIs. That was good for another Doubleday Award – the first Met to win such an honor three straight times. The infielder even spent six games at Triple A with the Norfolk of the International League, hitting .474. But he was 25 years old at that point, and it was easy to wonder what the future held for him.

Snyder found out on December 13. Two days earlier, the Mets had traded Alex Escobar, Matt Lawton, Jerrod Riggan, and two players to be named later to the Cleveland Indians for future Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, Mike Bacsik, and Danny Peoples. On December 13, Snyder and pitcher Billy Traber were formally included in the transaction. Years later, Indians general manager Mark Shapiro called it the worst trade of his time in that position.11

The change of scenery didn’t change Snyder’s offensive profile, as he posted good numbers again while playing for Buffalo in the Triple-A International League. He even won a home-run contest when the Indians came to Buffalo for an exhibition game. That Bisons team had a bundle of talent, including such players as Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips, Jake Westbrook, Chris Coste,  Jolbert Cabrera, and Josh Bard, but Snyder was the team’s top slugger. Buffalo went 87-57 but fell four games short of winning the division despite having the second-best record in the league.

Along the way, Snyder was called up to “The Show.” He had just struck out three times in a game in late April when Buffalo manager Eric Wedge called him into his office and told him he had been called up. At first he thought it was a joke, and he kept his cell phone off until he was within sight of the stadium in Cleveland just in case someone tried to call and tell him there was a mistake.12

Snyder debuted in the major leagues in Texas on April 28, hitting a single in the ninth inning in his first at-bat. He thus entered the major-league record book. “I look back at it now and wish I had a little more fun when I did it,” Snyder said 20 years later. “I took it as a job … and you grind away at it. You don’t smell the roses while you are there. Looking back at it now, I did it the right way, I did it my way. I worked hard. I was never the best athlete, but I wanted to be there.”13

Snyder stayed with the Indians for another six games through May 5, and then returned to the Cleveland roster for a six-game stay in July and another six in September. Since he had grown up as a Boston Red Sox fan, it must have been meaningful for him to play in Fenway Park on September 16 and 18. Snyder saved the best for last, hitting a home run on September 29 in a 7-3 win over Kansas City in Cleveland. “Victor Martinez and I went back-to-back,” Snyder remembered. “I don’t remember what the count was. I wanted so badly to hit a home run in Jacobs Field. It was to left-center field about 8 or 10 rows back.”14 An usher retrieved the ball for him.

In 18 games for the Indians, Snyder hit .200 with the home run and 4 RBIs. A trip to the majors is something to which everyone who has played baseball aspires. Still, it was a difficult year, thanks to the Buffalo-Cleveland shuttle. “I was up and down the whole year,” Snyder said. “By the time the year was over, I was just spent. This offseason was good for me to kind of reflect on everything.”15

Snyder finished 2002 with 19 homers and 66 RBIs for Buffalo, and set a franchise record by driving eight runs on June 13, 2002, in Syracuse. He tried playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic, but felt rather fried mentally after the long season and cut short his trip to the Caribbean after a month. “I was bad,” said Snyder, who hit .088 with the team playing in Aguilas. “It was a long season with everything going on. I was ready to get home. … My mind really wasn’t in it.”16

The Boston Red Sox were coming off a good (93-69) but not great 2002 season. Theo Epstein had been hired as the new general manager, and he thought the Red Sox needed to upgrade at first base. Boston had used Tony Clark, Brian Daubach, and José Offerman at the position in 2002 and Daubach had left as a free agent to sign with the Chicago White Sox. Epstein was looking for talent anywhere he could find it, and he noticed that the Indians had put Snyder on waivers on January 15, 2003. The Red Sox claimed him two days later, figuring someone with a proven minor-league bat could prove a wise investment in their search for a new first baseman.

“We claimed [Snyder] because we had roster space at the time,” Epstein said in a February 2003 interview. “We thought he would be a good addition, provide some depth. We don’t have a lot of upper level prospects. Then it turned out we had a rash of moves the next week where we needed a roster spot.”17

Less than a week after the signing, Boston dropped Snyder from the 40-man roster to make room for pitcher Héctor Almonte. The Red Sox assigned Snyder to Triple-A Pawtucket. Boston continued its search for a bargain option at first base. By the end of the spring the team had acquired Jeremy Giambi, Kevin Millar, Dave Nilsson, and a free agent from the Twins named David Ortiz. 

In Pawtucket, Snyder started slowly. “Let’s be honest, he’s had a tough year offensively – the offensive numbers aren’t what he’s accustomed to, but he’s helped us win games with his glove at third base,” PawSox manager Buddy Bailey said in midseason.18 A consolation was that he had plenty of family and friends who made the drive from Connecticut to Rhode Island to see him play. For the season, Snyder hit .255 with 22 homers and 71 RBIs.

Snyder knew he had to do better in 2004 to make the last step up to the majors. He lit up the International League to the tune of 36 homers (tying a franchise record) and 104 RBIs to go with a .273 average. The home run and RBI totals led the league, and he was an All-Star that season in the International League. It was considered to be one of the great seasons in the history of the Pawtucket franchise. His reward along the way was to be called up … for one game. Kevin Youkilis was on the disabled list with a bone bruise in his right ankle, and Boston needed a third baseman.

“It wasn’t really expected,” Snyder said that day about the recall. “It’s just a great feeling. … Being a New England guy, playing for the Red Sox is a dream. To play for the team you’ve rooted for your whole life, it’s a thrill to be here.”19 Buddy Bailey added, “He had a tremendous second half last year and he’s been consistent all year with his home runs, base hits and RBI. He plays a couple of positions, first and third, and with (Boston’s) injuries, he’s going to get an opportunity to help that ballclub as well.”20

The date was August 18, and the Red Sox hosted the Blue Jays. It took a little time for Snyder to figure out how to navigate the streets of Boston to arrive at Fenway Park. Once he got there, he had one major goal even before the game started. “The only thing I wanted to do in batting practice was hit the ball over the Green Monster,” said Snyder, who in his youth had designed a replica of Fenway Park for Wiffle ball in a friend’s backyard.21

Snyder, wearing uniform number 37, started at third base, and handled five chances flawlessly (two putouts and three assists). At the plate, he batted ninth and had his first at-bat in a Boston uniform in the bottom of the second inning. He struck out swinging against Miguel Batista. In the fourth, Snyder hit into a double play, and he followed that in the sixth with a fly out to deep center.

Finally in the bottom of the eighth, Snyder fulfilled the dream of every youngster who grew up a Red Sox fan: he singled to left with two outs. Sadly, he didn’t get to enjoy the view from first, as teammate Bill Mueller was thrown out trying to score from second base on the play (“By about 60 feet,” Snyder said with a laugh.) That ended the inning. Boston took a 6-4 victory. “I wanted to get the kid an RBI in Boston,” Red Sox third-base coach Dale Sveum said later about the play.22

That was it for Snyder’s major-league career. Mark Bellhorn was ready to play again, so Boston activated the infielder. Snyder was on his way back to Pawtucket and the minor leagues. He stayed there for the rest of the season, as his hopes for a September call-up were dashed. Snyder watched like everyone else as the Red Sox went on to end an 86-year drought by winning the World Series in October. That meant he had earned a championship ring for his efforts. There were 16 other players who played no more than 21 games for Boston that season, but Snyder and pitcher Abe Alvarez were the only two who participated in just one game. None of the 17 players on the list played in the major leagues after 2004.23

“I stole it,” Snyder said about the ring years later. “I can say I stole it, because the statute of limitations has run out now. I got a call from the front office after the season, and asking, ‘What ring size are you?’ I’m thinking – this is a joke. But whatever, ‘Here’s my ring size.’”24

Snyder became a free agent after the 2004 season, and – after talking with the Indians about a return – signed with Tampa Bay. Along the way in 2005, a package came to his house back home. Wife Kristen called her husband and said, “Did you order any sneakers? It’s something from Boston.” She opened it up, and it was the ring. “I was glad she was home,” Snyder said, with the ring securely in a safe at home as of 2022. “I appreciate the ring now more than I did at the time.”25

In 2005 Snyder had another good season for Durham of the IL, with 29 homers and 92 RBIs. Then it was on to the Cincinnati Reds, hoping for a chance at big-league fame. “It’s just a matter of being in the right place at the right time – getting that opportunity, and maybe that hasn’t happened yet,” he said during spring training in 2006.26 Alas, Snyder ended up in Louisville that season, and he had 17 homers and 77 RBIs there. He stayed in the Kentucky city for the opening of the 2007 season but lost some of his batting stroke. After a slow start, he was released on June 8. He moved on to Charlotte in the Chicago White Sox chain a week later, but couldn’t do much better. He was a 31-year-old who hit a combined .215 with 13 homers and 53 RBIs. That turned out to be his last season in Organized Baseball. 

Along the way, Snyder figured out his major-league dreams weren’t going to come true. “(It was) right around that 2005 season, where I just hit as good as I could have – I couldn’t put up better numbers,” he said. “In ’05, Lou Piniella was the manager of the Rays, but I had three at-bats in spring training and was sent down. At that point, there’s nothing else I can do aside from hitting 75 home runs – and that’s not going to happen – to get over that hump.”27

Snyder moved on to the rest of his life after leaving baseball, knowing he had given the sport his best shot. “I thought I ran my time out,” he said. “I played 10 years after college. I did everything I could. I did it my way. I can look back at it and be proud.”28 As of 2022, he lived in Glastonbury, Connecticut, and worked as a police officer in nearby East Hampton. He and Kristen had three children – Rayah, Peighton, and Sage.29  

Snyder played 10 seasons in the minors, finishing with a .262 batting average with 220 homers and 771 RBIs. He had 59 at-bats in the majors, with 12 hits, one homer, 4 RBIs, and 22 strikeouts. And a ring.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Notes 

1 “Earl C. Snyder Jr.” Bailey Family Funeral Homes, 2014. https://www.bcbailey.com/obituary/Earl-Snyder.

2 Ryan Chichester and Matt Hornick, “Plenty of Options to Choose From for Most Memorable Baseball Teams in Area History,” New Britain Herald; April 19, 2020. http://www.newbritainherald.com/NBH-Berlin+Sports/370511/plenty-of-options-to-choose-from-for-most-memorable-baseball-teams-in-area-history.

3 “Hall of Fame Inductees 2012.” Plainville Sports Hall of Fame. https://plainvillesports.com/inductees/2012-inductees.

4 Woody Anderson, “With Snyder, There Are Powerful Similarities.” Hartford Courant; March 5, 1997. https://archive.ph/Bhrca#selection-2613.0-2613.116.

5 “Earl Snyder.” Alumni Athletics Hall of Fame. https://hartfordhawks.com/honors/alumni-athletics-hall-of-fame/earl-snyder/85.

6 Anderson.

7 “Episode 68: Moonlight Graham,” Fanbase; March 28, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7eZyYEHRQk.

8 David Heuschkel, “Painful Year for Snyder,” Hartford Courant; February 25, 2003. https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2003-02-25-0302251477-story.html.

9 “Episode 68: Moonlight Graham.”

10 “Playing Music for the Visiting Team.” SportsAnnouncing.com; September 5, 2015. http://www.sportsannouncing.com/playing-music-for-the-visiting-team/.

11 Vince Grzegorek, “Mark Shapiro’s Self-Proclaimed Biggest Mistake: That Robbie Alomar for Matt Lawton Deal.” Scene; June 7, 2010. https://www.clevescene.com/news/mark-shapiros-self-proclaimed-biggest-mistake-that-robbie-alomar-for-matt-lawton-deal-1926166.

12 C.L. Brown, “Snyder in a League of His Own,” Louisville Courier-Journal; March 28, 2007. https://www.redszone.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-56003.html.

13 “Episode 68: Moonlight Graham.”

14 “Episode 68: Moonlight Graham.”

15 Heuschkel.

16 Heuschkel.

17 Heuschkel.

18 Angel Verdejo, “Snyder Figures Out Ways to Help,” Buffalo News; August 5, 2003. https://buffalonews.com/news/snyder-figures-out-ways-to-help/article_429281fe-236b-59b4-9a78-2f1545740ffc.html.

19 David Borges, “Red Sox Bring Up Snyder,” Middletown (Connecticut) Press; August 19, 2004. https://www.middletownpress.com/news/article/Red-Sox-bring-up-Snyder-11924495.php.

20 Borges.

21 Associated Press, “Sox fan starts at 3rd,” Cape Cod Times (Hyannis, Massachusetts), August 19, 2004. https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/sports/2004/08/19/sox-fan-starts-at-3rd/50924954007/.

22 Bill Simmons, “SGW Quote of the Day Archive,” ESPN.com. http://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/quotes/archive/vol1&num=0.

23 Bill Nowlin and Matthew Silverman, Red Sox by the Numbers (Champagne, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC, 2016).

24 “Episode 68: Moonlight Graham.”

25 “Episode 68: Moonlight Graham.”

26 “HRs Don’t Give Snyder a Major Boost,” Sarasota (Florida) Herald-Tribune; March 11, 2006. https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2006/03/12/hrs-dont-give-snyder-a-major-boost/28466363007/.

27  “Episode 68: Moonlight Graham.”

28 “Episode 68: Moonlight Graham.”

29 “Episode 68: Moonlight Graham.”