Kyle Ehren Snyder (born September 9, 1977) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher and current

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

and the Boston Red Sox. During his playing days, Snyder stood tall, weighing . Kyle Snyder and Trophy

Background

Snyder was born in Houston, Texas. He graduated from Riverview High School in Sarasota, Florida in 1996. While in high school, Snyder lettered in baseball, basketball, swimming, and golf. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the

1996 amateur draft File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on ...

; however, Snyder chose to attend North Carolina instead, where he played college baseball for the Tar Heels. Snyder played three years for North Carolina, and in 1998 played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Chatham Athletics The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

where he was named the top prospect. In summer 1997, Snyder played in the Valley Baseball League, for the Winchester Royals.

Professional career

In 1999, Snyder was a first round MLB draft pick (7th overall) of the Kansas City Royals. He played for the Spokane Indians in 1999 and was named top prospect in the Northwest League by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

''. Snyder’s career with the Royals was hampered by several injuries. He only pitched two games in 2000 and missed the entire 2001 minor league season recovering from

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

. Between 2003 and 2005, Snyder was on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

four times including two stays on the 60-day disabled list, missing the entire 2004 season after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Despite his history with injuries, Snyder was named the seventh-best prospect in the organization by ''Baseball America'' in 2003. Snyder started the 2006 season with the Royals' Triple-A affiliate, the Omaha Royals, and was promoted to the major leagues on June 8, 2006, to face the Texas Rangers. After giving up nine runs (five

earned Earning can refer to: * Labour (economics) *Earnings of a company *Merit Merit may refer to: Religion * Merit (Christianity) * Merit (Buddhism) * Punya (Hinduism) * Imputed righteousness in Reformed Christianity Companies and brands * Merit ...

) and ten hits in a two inning start, he was designated for assignment. In June 2006, Snyder was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox. He split the remainder of the season between Boston and the Pawtucket Red Sox. Snyder is perhaps best known in Boston for his 4 inning relief effort for the Red Sox in a July 31, 2006 game against the Cleveland Indians. Entering the game with Boston trailing 8-6 in the fifth inning, Snyder held the Indians scoreless before

David Ortiz David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican-American former designated hitter (DH) and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played in the American League (AL) from 1997 to 2016, primarily wit ...

hit a walk-off three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Red Sox a stunning 9-8 victory. Snyder allowed only one hit while walking none and striking out six. Snyder's first full season in the big league was in 2007, when he appeared in 46 games, one more than his previous three professional years combined. In January 2008, Snyder signed a one-year contract with the Red Sox avoiding the

arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...

process. In April 2008, Snyder was designated for assignment to make room for Josh Beckett, who was returning from the

15-day disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. Later in the month, Snyder accepted an assignment to remain in the Red Sox organization with Triple-A Pawtucket. He was granted free agency after the 2008 season and signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets in January 2009. After playing sparingly through the 2011 season, for multiple minor league teams, Snyder retired as an active player.

Coaching

In 2012, the Tampa Bay Rays hired Snyder as pitching coach for the Short-Season A level Hudson Valley Renegades. Starting the 2013 season, Snyder was the pitching coach for the Bowling Green Hot Rods (A). The Rays promoted him to the Durham Bulls for the 2015 season. The Rays promoted him to be the MLB pitching coach for the 2018 season, replacing longtime pitching coach Jim Hickey.

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Snyder, Kyle 1977 births Living people Arizona League Royals players Baseball coaches from Texas Baseball players from Houston Boston Red Sox players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chatham Anglers players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Gulf Coast Royals players Kansas City Royals players Lowell Spinners players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Minor league baseball coaches Newark Bears players North Carolina Tar Heels baseball players Omaha Royals players Pawtucket Red Sox players Spokane Indians players Sportspeople from Sarasota, Florida Tampa Bay Rays coaches Wichita Wranglers players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Riverview High School (Sarasota, Florida) alumni