Russell Henry Snyder (born June 22, 1934) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. He played in

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), ...

as an

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 cat ...

for the

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...

(1959–60),

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

(1961–67),

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

(1968),

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

(1968–69) and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

(1970). Snyder was a member of the 1966 world champion Baltimore Orioles team.

Baseball career

Snyder was born in

Oak, Nebraska Oak is a village in Nuckolls County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 66 at the 2010 census. History The first settlement was made in the Oak area in the 1860s. Oak was platted on its current site in 1888 when the Fremont, Elkhorn & ...

. His

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

career began in 1953 in the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

' organization, when he led the Class D

Sooner State League The Sooner State League was a Class D (baseball), Class D level minor league baseball league that operated from 1947 in sports, 1947 through 1957 in sports, 1957. The league owners kept it alive in 1958, anticipating a return to play in 1959. Howev ...

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.432) and hits (240). He played in the Yankee organization through 1958, and was traded to Kansas City on April 12, 1959, in a four-player deal. The Orioles acquired him in a seven-player trade in January 1961. He finished third in voting for the

American League Rookie of the Year Award In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

for playing in 73

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 ...

, with 243

at bats 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 ...

, 41

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

, 76 hits, 13 doubles, two triples, three

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, 21

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

, six

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 ...

s, 19 walks, a .313 batting average, .367

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

, .420

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

, along with 102

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, while ...

and 3

sacrifice hits In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, and ...

. In 1962, Snyder's .305 batting average led the Orioles that year and in 1966, his .347 batting average at the All-Star break led the American League. He helped the Orioles win the

1966 World Series The 1966 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1966 season. The 63rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Baltimore Orioles and National League ...

. In a 2013 retrospective on Snyder's time with the Orioles, the ''

Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'' called him the "unsung hero of the '66 Series" and "a sharp-fielding outfielder ... whose glove served the team down the stretch" of the 1966 American League pennant race. In the September 22nd game that year versus the Athletics, Snyder made a diving catch to end the game and clinch the pennant for the Orioles. Then, in the World Series opening game, "he saved two Dodgers runs with a dramatic lunging catch of

John Roseboro John Junior Roseboro (May 13, 1933 – August 16, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1957 until 1970, most prominently as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. A four ...

's sinking liner" in centerfield, the ''Sun'' said. With the Orioles needing to strengthen its pitching staff, Snyder was traded along with

Luis Aparicio Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934), nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1956 to 1973 for three American League (AL) teams, m ...

and

John Matias John Matias (August 15, 1944 – April 7, 2020) was a professional baseball player who played for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1970, playing 58 games and hitting .188 with 2 homers. After beginning his professional base ...

to the

for

Don Buford Donald Alvin Buford (born February 2, 1937) is an American former professional baseball player scout, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from through , most notably as the leadoff hitter for the Baltimore Oriol ...

, Bruce Howard and Roger Nelson on November 29, 1967. He was later dealt along with

Max Alvis Roy Maxwell Alvis (born February 2, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from through , most notably for the Cleveland Indians where he became a two-time All-Star. He pla ...

from the Indians to the Brewers for Roy Foster, Frank Coggins and cash during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

on April 4, 1970."Indians Send Alvis, Snyder to Brewers," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Saturday, April 4, 1970.
Retrieved September 5, 2022. Overall, in 12 MLB seasons, he played in 1,365 games and had 3,631 at bats, 488 runs scored, 984 hits, 150 doubles, 29 triples, 42 home runs, 319 RBI, 58 stolen bases, 294 walks, with a .271 batting average, .325 on-base percentage, .363 slugging percentage, and 1,318 total bases, 57 sacrifice hits, 23

sacrifice flies In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

and 10

intentional walk In baseball, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping by ''IBB'', is a walk issued to a batter by a pitcher with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the ...

s. Defensively, he recorded a .981

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 ...

playing at all three outfield positions. Following his retirement from baseball, Snyder worked in

soil conservation Soil conservation is the prevention of loss of the topmost layer of the soil from erosion or prevention of reduced fertility caused by over usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. Slash-and-burn and other uns ...

. He and his wife Ann (who died in 2002 after 47 years of marriage) had three children. As of 2013, Snyder makes his home in Nelson, Nebraska.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snyder, Russ 1934 births Living people Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Nebraska Binghamton Triplets players Birmingham Barons players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Kansas City Athletics players Major League Baseball outfielders McAlester Rockets players Milwaukee Brewers players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players People from Nuckolls County, Nebraska Portland Beavers players Quincy Gems players