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

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

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 catch ...

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. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

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), nicknamed Nails and Dude, 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� ...

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'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' reported that Snelling and Mariners pitching prospect

Emiliano Fruto Emiliano Ricardo Fruto roo'-toh/small> (born June 6, 1984) is a Colombian former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Seattle Mariners in its 2006 season. Listed at 6' 3" ft. .90 m. 230 lb. 07 k./small>, Fruto batted an ...

would be traded to the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

for veteran

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

José Vidro. The trade was completed several days later. Following the

Virginia Tech massacre The Virginia Tech shooting was a spree shooting that occurred on Monday, April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, players for the Nationals wore

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

on April 17, 2007. Snelling's cap was then sent to the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and the 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 ...

. 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

, Snelling was traded to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

for outfielder

Ryan Langerhans Ryan David Langerhans (born February 20, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He was drafted in the third round of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft, 1998 MLB draft by the Atlanta Braves, and made his debut with them i ...

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 the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

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. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

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 Dodge ...

. 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. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

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 nickname ...

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 they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

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 ...

was activated.

Sultanes de Monterrey

On April 8, 2009, Snelling signed with the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey (English: Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball club in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Monterrey, Mexico. Established in 1939 as Carta Blanca, the Sultanes have won ten LMB titles, most recently in 2018. Fro ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He was released on June 9. In 49 games he hit .324/.435/.520 with 5 home runs and 29 RBIs.

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 Federation, international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23. Unlike in 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006, when the Round-robin tournament, round- ...

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 th ...

and

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

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

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

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 21st-century American sportsmen 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 21st-century Australian sportsmen