
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 7, 1995                   TAG: 9506080016
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

INDIANS MAR SNYDER FAREWELL

Randy Snyder would have liked to play baseball one last time in the purple pinstripes of the Salem Avalanche, but his plans Tuesday night simply were to come to the ballpark, say his goodbyes and quietly head out of town.

As it turned out, there was little quiet to his departure.

Knowing he would be a pro baseball retiree embarking on the rest of his life starting today, Snyder singled sharply, walked and homered in his last at-bat to bring his RBI total for that last humid evening of toil at Municipal Field to three.

``I figured all along he was going to play,'' said Salem manager Bill Hayes. ``Give him one last hurrah. He made the most of it.''

His team did not. The Kinston Indians stroked three home runs and two triples in a 10-5 Carolina League thrashing of the Avalanche before 813 customers.

``It was nice to go out and play relaxed,'' said the 28-year-old former replacement player. ``I just wish we could have won.''

Snyder was released last year and figured that was it before he made one last try as a replacement. After awhile, it became apparent he wasn't going to make it out of Class A, where he was elderly by circuit standards. That hastened his decision.

Hayes gave Snyder the rest of the night and the rest of his life off after he swatted his third homer of the year, a two-run shot, in the sixth.

``Hey, thanks,'' he hollered across the clubhouse porch to Kinston relief pitcher Kris Hanson, who had offered up the pitch.

``That family across the street is going to be coming after you after you hit that ball into their living room,'' Hanson said.

Snyder leaves today for home in Seattle and from there, he'll grab some fresh clothes and head off to his new career as a sporting goods salesman. He has a sales meeting for Easton, one of the companies he'll be selling for as an independent sales representative, in Breckenridge, Colo., in a couple of days.

Snyder bought his now former teammates $89 worth of pizza and tipped the delivery boy his last $5. Doug Million, one of the Avalanche's prize pitchers, stopped by to shake his hand.

``Hey, in a couple of years, I'll be telling people I caught you in the minors,'' Snyder said to Million.

see microfilm for box score

by CNB