Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 28, 1995 TAG: 9505300088
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK BULLOCK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Consider the parallels between Randy Snyder, a catcher for the Salem Avalanche who has six seasons of minor-league baseball under his belt, and Crash Davis, a veteran catcher in the movie ``Bull Durham.''
Snyder, at 28, is the oldest player on the Avalanche roster. He has been as high as Class AAA and as low as hitting .201 in 101 games in Beloit, Wis. He quit baseball for a year after being released by the Detroit Tigers and returned when the major-league strike provided a fresh beginning.
He has seen more of America's countryside from a bus window than John Madden.
Crash Davis, a journeyman catcher, summed it up when he entered the Durham Bulls' locker room and a coach asked him, ``Who are you?''
``I'm the player to be named later,'' Davis replied.
Chapter I
``He's played in more ballparks than I have.''
- Max Patkin, ``The Clown Prince of Baseball,'' in describing Crash Davis.
Beloit. Helena. Chandler. Stockton. El Paso. Salt Lake City. Edmonton. High Desert.
The Pioneer League. The Texas League. The California League. The Midwest League. The Pacific Coast League. The Carolina League.
Snyder has been in the minor-league systems of the Milwaukee Brewers, the Florida Marlins, the Detroit Tigers and the Colorado Rockies. He has performed in more baseball stadiums than the Famous Chicken.
After signing out of Washington State University following his junior season, Snyder hit .196 in Beloit in 1988, then batted .316 the next season in Helena, Mont. A .208 average in El Paso in 1991 was followed by a .266 stint in Class AAA Edmonton late in the 1993 season. Along the way he hit .283, .188, .256 and .232. He thought his break had come with Edmonton.
``I hit .270 in a backup role and did a good job catching,'' Snyder said. ``The Marlins were pleased. They wanted to sign me for the next year.''
Instead, Snyder, by then a six-year free agent, decided to shop around. He landed with the Tigers, but ``never really got a genuine look'' in spring training and was released.
Frustrated with baseball, he went back to Washington and started getting on with the rest of his life.
``I wanted to move on with things,'' he said. ``I was looking forward to getting married in October and was excited about what was coming after baseball.''
He took a job selling copiers and fax machines in Seattle, settled in with his high school sweetheart bride, who is a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company, and became a working stiff.
``I didn't have any regrets,'' Snyder said. ``I was disillusioned, and the experience with Detroit proved to me that it was time to move on.''
Then came the major-league strike and a phone call from the Rockies, who invited Snyder to spring training.
``They were going to front you with a little money,'' Snyder said. ``It would help pay some bills at the time. I was just excited to go down there [to Tucson, Ariz., for spring training]. I didn't know if it would be for two weeks or two months. It rekindled my desire to play.''
Snyder's wife supported his decision to continue with baseball, and together they decided he should give it another try, ``not knowing it would lead to a job in [Class] A ball.''
``I didn't know the pecking order and how players stood in the organization,'' Snyder said. ``I felt I stood a good chance to land in AA or AAA. I had played well in the spring for the right people, I thought.
``I came here to show them that what I was doing in the spring was not a fluke, that I could play.''
Add Salem to the resume.
Chapter II
``Why the hell am I back in A ball?''
- Crash Davis
``You've been around, you're smart, you're professional. We want you to mature the kid.''
- Joe Riggins, manager of the Durham Bulls.
Randy Snyder is all of the above. He's certainly been around, he's an intelligent catcher and he lends a stabilizing force to a young pitching staff that includes a pair of No.1 draft choices, neither of whom is yet 21 years old.
``We think he should be able to lead the pitching staff down the right path,'' said Salem manager Bill Hayes. ``He's a veteran guy who knows his role on the team and he's done a pretty good job for us.''
Snyder had hit .269 in 16 games for the Avalanche through Thursday, but his real value has been in handling the pitching staff and making Salem's other catcher, Mike Higgins, work harder.
``He knows how to play the game,'' Hayes said. ``He's helping the staff and he's pushing another guy to step his game up.''
Snyder is not a take-charge type of player, preferring to impart tidbits of wisdom in quiet, non-confrontational ways. He stays out of locker-room politics and keeps to himself when not on the field.
``I try to pass along certain observations I've made in my career,'' Snyder said.
Chapter III
``Just one extra flare a week. You get a ground ball with eyes. Just one more dying quail a week, and you're in Yankee Stadium.''
- Crash Davis
There's a fine line between those who make the big leagues and those who spend their whole career trying.
Randy Snyder knows how blurry that distinction can be.
``There are so many factors in that final jump,'' he said. ``In AA ball or above, all the players have tremendous tools. The people who can't adjust are the ones who have the tough time moving to the next two levels.
``But let's say a player gets stuck behind a [Ryne] Sandberg at second base, or a [Cal] Ripken at shortstop. After a couple of years, he may lose that edge that's necessary to push him up another notch. He may be a great player that for one reason or another just doesn't get a shot.''
Eventually, the chances become fewer. The luck runs out. Too many younger guys come around who have the same chance. And better luck.
Then optimism, enthusiasm and the dream are replaced by disillusionment, resentment and reality.
``At a certain point, you can't play baseball for the sheer joy of it,'' Snyder said. ``At some point you have to weigh it against whatever else you could be doing.''
But the dream doesn't fade easily. Go 2-for-3 one night and throw out a couple of runners and you're juiced again.
Chapter IV
``Where can I go?''
- Crash Davis
``You can keep going to the ballpark and keep getting paid to do it. That beats the hell out of working at Sears.''
|- Joe Riggins, Durham Bulls manager
By Snyder's own admission, it beats selling copiers, too.
``I'm just happy to be out here each day I'm out here,'' he said. ``My career could have ended the day the strike broke.''
His enthusiasm rises and falls much like his batting average. His wife is ``generally supportive,'' he said, but she remains in Seattle while he's across the country living out of a suitcase.
``She knows what a ballplayer's life is like, but it's a difficult mix,'' Snyder said. ``It's our first year of marriage and we're not together. Her enthusiasm has started to wane.''
It's a difficult decision for a 28-year-old when he's faced with giving up all he's ever wanted, especially when he feels like he never really got it.
``You come back after a year off and realize how much you loved it,'' Snyder said. ``But the initial excitement [of being back in baseball] is about a two-week thing. Then it starts to weigh on you.
``This isn't where I wanted to be, and I'm nearing a time when I need to get some solid answers about my future.''
Then, practically in the next breath, he regains his optimism.
``Hopefully, I can earn a spot at a higher level,'' Snyder said. ``I'm not so removed [from Class AAA] that making the majors seems like a dream. I'm playing close to my capability, and I think I've done a good job with the younger pitchers. The way I see it, I'm either playing myself into a promotion or playing myself out of a baseball career.''
by CNB