Frank Elton Snyder (May 27, 1895 – January 5, 1962), was an American professional baseball player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1912 to 1927 for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

and St. Louis Cardinals.Frank Snyder
at Baseball Reference Nicknamed Pancho, Snyder was of Mexican descent on his mother's side.

Major league career

Snyder began his major league career with the St. Louis Cardinals in

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

at the age of 18. He was traded to the New York Giants in the middle of the 1919 season. Snyder was a member of John McGraw's New York Giants teams that won four consecutive National League pennants between and and played on two World Series winners in 1921 and 1922. Snyder also homered in the final game of the

1923 World Series The 1923 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1923 season. The 20th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion New York Yankees against the National League champion New York Giants. ...

, but the Yankees staged a comeback to defeat the Giants. During that period, Snyder posted a batting average above .300 three times, with a .320 average in

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

, a .343 average in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

and a .302 average in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

. Snyder hit the first major league home run in the history of

Braves Field Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the B ...

in 1922. It was the first home run hit in the seven seasons played at the cavernous ballpark. In

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

, he was selected off waivers by the St. Louis Cardinals. He played for the Cardinals in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

before retiring at the end of the season at the age of 33.

Career statistics

In a sixteen-year major league career, Snyder played in 1,392

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

, accumulating 1,122

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in 4,229

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s for a .265 career batting average along with 44

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

, 47 home runs and 525 runs batted in. A good defensive player, his .981 career fielding average was 8 points higher than the league average over the span of his playing career. Snyder led National League catchers in

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

three times: in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

and

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

. He also led the league twice in

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or ''fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...

s and

caught stealing In baseball, a runner is charged, and the fielders involved are credited, with a time caught stealing when the runner attempts to advance or lead off from one base to another without the ball being batted and then is tagged out by a fielder whil ...

percentage and, once in assists and in baserunners caught stealing. His 204 assists as a catcher in is the seventh highest single-season total in major league baseball history. His 1,332 career assists rank him 17th all-time among major league catchers. Richard Kendall of the Society for American Baseball Research devised an unscientific study that ranked Snyder as the ninth-most dominating fielding catcher in major league history. His reputation as a defensive standout is enhanced because of the era in which he played. In the

Deadball Era In baseball, the dead-ball era was the period from around 1900 to the emergence of Babe Ruth as a power hitter in 1919, when he hit a then-major league record 29 home runs; only three players since 1890 had even hit 20. This era was characterized ...

, catchers played a huge defensive role, given the large number of

bunt Bunt may refer to: * Bunt (community), an elite social group from Karnataka, India * Bunt (baseball), a batting technique in baseball * Bunt (sail), a part of a ship's sail * Bunt Island, island in Antarctica * The Bunt, nickname of the Bunting ...

s and

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

attempts, as well as the difficulty of handling the spitball pitchers who dominated pitching staffs.

Coaching career

After his playing career, he served as a coach for the New York Giants, and was a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

manager.Frank Snyder Minor league Manager record
at Baseball Reference

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Snyder, Frank 1895 births 1962 deaths Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players from San Antonio New York Giants (NL) coaches New York Giants (NL) players St. Louis Cardinals players Bridgeport Orators players Springfield Reapers players Houston Buffaloes managers Houston Buffaloes players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Fort Worth Panthers players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Jersey City Giants players Birmingham Barons managers Toledo Mud Hens managers American baseball players of Mexican descent