Christopher Doyle Snelling (born December 3, 1981) is an American-born Australian former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Career

Seattle Mariners

Snelling was signed as an amateur free agent out of Australia by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

on March 2, 1999. He quickly established himself as the franchise's top position prospect in the system. He was often compared to

Lenny Dykstra Leonard Kyle Dykstra (; born February 10, 1963), is an American former professional baseball center fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets (1985–1989) and Philadelphia Phillies (1989–1996). Dykstra was a thre ...

due to his aggressive play and ability to hit for average and draw walks. He made it to the major leagues in 2002, but during a baserunning mishap tore his ACL in his left knee. After that incident, his status as a top prospect began to decline, as Snelling suffered numerous serious injuries in subsequent years. At

fan blog USS Mariner, Snelling was dubbed "Doyle" (his middle name) in hopes of driving off the injury curse that plagued him.

Washington Nationals

On the night of December 13, 2006, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' reported that Snelling and Mariners pitching prospect Emiliano Fruto would be traded to the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadi ...

for veteran second baseman José Vidro. The trade was completed several days later. Following the Virginia Tech massacre, players for the Nationals wore

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

baseball caps for their game against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in B ...

on April 17, 2007. Snelling's cap was then sent to the Hall of Fame in

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the ...

. On the evening of May 2, 2007, during a game between the Nationals and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

, Snelling was traded to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

for outfielder Ryan Langerhans.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Snelling was claimed off waivers from the Athletics by the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

on October 25, 2007.

Philadelphia Phillies

With a crowded outfield, the Rays traded Snelling to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

for cash considerations on November 20, 2007. The Phillies sent him outright to the minors on March 28, 2008. On April 12, 2008, Snelling was recalled from the minor leagues by the Phillies after an injury to

Shane Victorino Shane Patrick Victorino (born November 30, 1980), nicknamed "The Flyin' Hawaiian", is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodger ...

. Despite getting only 4 AB, he had two very key hits for the Phillies who won the division by just three games. On April 15, he hit a pinch hit, first pitch HR off

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

closer

José Valverde José Rafael Valverde (born March 24, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets. He is nicknamed ...

in the 9th inning with his team down three runs. The Phillies scored three more runs in the inning and won the game. On June 6, he hit a pinch hit double to lead off the top of the 10th inning against the

. The Phillies scored two runs in the inning and won the game. He was designated for assignment on June 7. He spent most of the season with the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in th ...

San Diego Padres

Snelling signed a minor league deal with

on March 14, 2009.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On June 10, 2009, Snelling was traded to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

for future considerations, but was released after

Ryan Doumit Ryan Matthew Doumit (born April 3, 1981) is an American former professional baseball catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played the first seven years of his career for the Pittsburgh Pirates, then two for the Minnesota Twins, and one f ...

was activated. He played the rest of the season with the Monterrey Sultanes in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

International career

Although he was born in the United States, Snelling grew up in Australia and has played for the Australian national team. He selected at the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference t ...

2009 Baseball World Cup The 2009 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 38th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through ...

and

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike ...

. At the 2009 World Baseball Classic, he hit two of Australia's four home runs in its victory over

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

on March 8, 2009.

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Snelling, Chris 1981 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arizona League Mariners players Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Baseball players from Miami Clearwater Threshers players Everett AquaSox players Indianapolis Indians players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Major League Baseball outfielders Mexican League baseball first basemen Mexican League baseball outfielders Oakland Athletics players Olympic baseball players for Australia People from North Miami, Florida Baseball players from Miami-Dade County, Florida Philadelphia Phillies players Sacramento River Cats players San Antonio Missions players San Bernardino Stampede players Seattle Mariners players Sultanes de Monterrey players Tacoma Rainiers players Washington Nationals players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players Sydney Blue Sox players People educated at St Peter's Catholic College, Tuggerah