Cory Snyder

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Cory Snyder
Snyder with the San Diego Surf Dawgs in 2008
Right fielder
Born: (1962-11-11) November 11, 1962 (age 61)
Inglewood, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 13, 1986, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
August 10, 1994, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
Batting average.247
Home runs149
Runs batted in488
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1984 Los Angeles Team
Pan American Games
Bronze medal – third place 1983 Caracas Team
Snyder batting for the Cleveland Indians

James Cory Snyder (born November 11, 1962) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 1994 for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers, earning a total of $5.7 million.[1] He was known for his powerful throwing arm.[2][3] He is on the list of Major League Baseball career assists as a right fielder leaders and the list of college baseball career home run leaders. Starting in 2006, he has been a baseball coach and a manager in various minor leagues, and in 2020 also started working as an automobile salesperson in Lindon, Utah.

Early life

Snyder grew up in Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, California,[4] and started playing baseball when he was 6 or 7 years old. When he was 8 years old, he joined Little League Baseball. His father was a pitcher in the Milwaukee Braves organization for three years until he hurt his arm.[5] Snyder attended Canyon High School.[4]

Career

Playing career

Snyder received a full baseball scholarship to Brigham Young University, where he played for the BYU Cougars baseball team.[6] In his first game with BYU, during his first three at-bats, he hit three home runs on three consecutive pitches. He was named 1982 Freshman of the Year.[6][7]

In 1983, Snyder played collegiate summer baseball for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL). He batted .321 for the season, belting a league-record 22 home runs, including homers in four consecutive at-bats on July 7–8. Snyder led the Mariners to the league title, and was named the league's outstanding pro prospect. He was inducted into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame in 2003.[8] Snyder played for the USA team in the 1983 Pan American Games in Venezuela and is on the list of Pan American Games medalists in baseball.[6]

In early 1984, he moved to Camarillo, California.[9] In June 1984, Snyder was drafted by the Cleveland Indians as the 4th overall pick in the 1st round of the 1984 Major League Baseball draft.[1] He was on the 1984 College Baseball All-America Team.

In August 1984, in the 1984 Summer Olympics, Snyder was on the first United States national baseball team, which earned a silver medal in baseball at the 1984 Summer Olympics.[10]

In 1985, Snyder received the Eastern League Most Valuable Player Award.

In May 1986, while playing for the Maine Guides, Snyder was sued after an incident where he threw his bat towards the backstop, but due to pine tar in his hands, it flew into the stands and hit two women sitting in the front row, breaking one of their noses and cracking the dental plate and bloodying the lip of the other.[11][12] A judge dismissed the charges in the criminal case.[13] In March 1988, Snyder settled the civil charges out of court.[14]

In June 1986, Snyder was called up to the major leagues.[5]

In 1986, he finished 4th in AL Rookie of the Year voting.[15]

In 1987, along with teammate Joe Carter, Snyder appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated.[16]

In 1989, he suffered a back injury after diving for a ball. A slump in performance followed, leading to an adverse relationship between Snyder and team officials.[17]

On December 4, 1990, the Cleveland Indians traded Snyder to the Chicago White Sox for pitchers Eric King and Shawn Hillegas.[18] His salary was set by an arbitrator at $800,000, a $100,000 raise.[19] There, coach Walt Hriniak forced him to change his hitting style, which Snyder believes was for the worse.[5] He also had a strained relationship with manager Jeff Torborg after being told he would only play part-time.[5] In July 1991, the White Sox traded Snyder to the Toronto Blue Jays for Shawn Jeter and a player to be named later.[20]

In March 1992, after being released by the Toronto Blue Jays, Snyder was signed by the San Francisco Giants.[21] In June 1992, he received the NL Major League Baseball Player of the Month Award.[1] In December 1992, he was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers to a two-year contract[22] at $1.5 million per year.[17][1] He retired from the major leagues after the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike.[5] Snyder's total earnings from major league baseball teams was $5,740,000.[1]

In March 1995, he was signed by the San Diego Padres to a contract with Las Vegas of the Pacific Coast League.[23]

In February 1997, Snyder unsuccessfully tried out for the St. Louis Cardinals.[24]

Coaching career

Snyder and Chih-Hsien Chiang in 2012 Spring Training

In 1998, at age 37, Snyder began to think about a career in coaching. At that time, he lived in Laguna Hills, California, where he taught kids baseball in his backyard. He also owned a sporting goods store.[25]

In December 2001, he opened a baseball facility in Lindon, Utah.[26]

In March 2006, Snyder received a 10-day assignment to assist in coaching the minor league players of the Cleveland Indians.[27]

From 2007 to 2009, Snyder managed the St. George Roadrunners of the Golden Baseball League. In 2008, he also managed the San Diego Surf Dawgs. In 2010, he managed the Na Koa Ikaika Maui, of the North American League.[28]

Snyder joined the Seattle Mariners organization as a coach for the Jackson Generals in 2011-2013 and Tacoma Rainiers in 2014-2015.[29]

He managed Pericos de Puebla in the Mexican League, leading the team to their first championship in 30 years by defeating the Tijuana Toros. He is only the fourth American manager to win Mexico's highest professional level baseball championship.

In 2017-2018, Snyder managed the CTBC Brothers baseball team of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).

In February 2019, Snyder became Director of Public Relations for the Orem Owlz, a Minor League Baseball team.[30][6]

In February 2022, Snyder was named manager of the Northern Colorado Owlz.

Post-sports career

In 2020, Snyder became an automobile salesperson for Murdock Hyundai in Lindon, Utah.[31]

Personal life

Snyder and his wife Tina have been married since 1985 and have six children, Ashley, Amberley, JC, Taylor, Aubrey, and Autumn.[32] They are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Snyder does not drink alcohol due to his religion.[17] In 1991, Snyder was featured in a public relations campaign by the church to improve the reputation of Mormonism.[33]

In 1998, he moved to Mapleton, Utah.[34]

Amberley Snyder, involved in professional barrel racing, was paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident in January 2010 when she was 18 years old. She is the subject of the biopic Walk. Ride. Rodeo., produced and distributed by Netflix. Cory was portrayed in the film by Bailey Chase.[35][36]

Snyder enjoys playing golf and had a 2 handicap.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Cory Snyder Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "SNYDER STRONG-ARMING FOES CORY DISCOVERS THAT FIELDING IS AS IMPORTANT AS BATTING". Deseret News. Associated Press. July 2, 1988.
  3. ^ Posnanski, Joe (June 14, 2018). "Revisiting the golden era of right-field cannons". Major League Baseball.
  4. ^ a b "CORY SNYDER". BYU Cougars.
  5. ^ a b c d e "CORY SNYDER INTERVIEW". Baseball Almanac.
  6. ^ a b c d Morgan, Phillip (February 5, 2019). "Former BYU, MLB star Cory Snyder joins Orem Owlz front office". Daily Herald.
  7. ^ Christensen, Clay (June 16, 2014). "1983: BYU baseball's year to remember". The Daily Universe.
  8. ^ "Eleven Legends to be Inducted into CCBL Hall of Fame". Cape Cod Baseball League. June 8, 2003.
  9. ^ "You Can Tell He's a Snyder; Check the Arm". Los Angeles Times. May 29, 1994.
  10. ^ "Cory Snyder Named MVP of Class AA Minor League". Los Angeles Times. September 7, 1985.
  11. ^ "Two Fans in New York Sue Snyder for $2.3 Million in Bat". Los Angeles Times. October 30, 1986.
  12. ^ "Former U.S. Olympian Cory Snyder pleaded innocent Friday". United Press International. May 30, 1986.
  13. ^ DAVIS, CRAIG (March 26, 1987). "INDIANS' SNYDER LIVING IN SHADOW OF IMPULSIVE ACT". Sun Sentinel.
  14. ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE; Lawsuit Settled". The New York Times. March 15, 1988.
  15. ^ Foster, Jason (November 11, 2019). "Baseball Musings: On Cory Snyder, baseball cards and youthful naiveté". Sporting News.
  16. ^ "IT WON'T BE AN INDIAN SUMMER". Sports Illustrated. June 29, 1987.
  17. ^ a b c "All's Right With Him : Cory Snyder Finds a Home With the". Los Angeles Times. June 26, 1993.
  18. ^ Hoynes, Paul (May 21, 2020). "Cory Snyder goes deep three times: On this date in Cleveland Indians history". The Plain Dealer.
  19. ^ Solomon, Alan (February 20, 1991). "SNYDER LOSES HIS CASE-BUT GETS A DECENT RAISE". Chicago Tribune.
  20. ^ "White Sox send Snyder to Toronto". United Press International. July 14, 1991.
  21. ^ "IMPRESSIVE SPRING GETS CORY SNYDER DEAL WITH GIANTS". Deseret News. March 28, 1992.
  22. ^ "Dodgers sign Snyder, McDowell". United Press International. December 5, 1992.
  23. ^ "Transactions". The New York Times. March 30, 1995.
  24. ^ Topkin, Marc (February 20, 1997). "EXTRA INNINGS". Tampa Bay Times.
  25. ^ a b WOOD, WENDELL (July 16, 1998). "Former baseball star returns to Provo". Brigham Young University.
  26. ^ "Snyder to open Ultimate Sports facility". Daily Herald. December 10, 2001.
  27. ^ "Assignment challenges ex-outfielder". Orlando Sentinel. March 18, 2006.
  28. ^ Cameron, Allen (May 26, 2010). "Snakes alive, they're the Warriors of Maui". Calgary Herald – via PressReader.
  29. ^ "Rich Donnelly Named Rainiers Manager". Minor League Baseball. January 14, 2014.
  30. ^ "Orem Owlz Announce Organizational Changes". Minor League Baseball. February 5, 2019.
  31. ^ Welcome Cory Snyder Murdock Hyundai. March 27, 2020 – via YouTube.
  32. ^ Schneider, Russell (2006). Whatever Happened to "Super Joe"?: Catching Up with 45 Good Old Guys from the Bad Old Days of the Cleveland Indians. Gray & Company. p. 8. ISBN 9781598510270.
  33. ^ "LDS CHURCH PUBLIC RELATIONS WORKS TO SHOW MAINSTREAM AMERICAN IMAGE". Deseret News. July 3, 1991.
  34. ^ "Blame pitching for HR derby". Deseret News. May 26, 2000.
  35. ^ "Ride On: Despite being paralyzed, Utah State's Snyder continues chasing rodeo dream". Casper Star-Tribune. July 21, 2014.
  36. ^ Opsahl, Kevin (September 24, 2018). "Partially paralyzed Utah barrel racer's story to hit Netflix". Deseret Digital Media. Associated Press.

External links

Preceded by Major League Baseball Player of the Month Award
June, 1992 		Succeeded by
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