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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 ...
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 c ...
for the Kansas City Athletics (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) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
(1961–67), Chicago White Sox (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 ...
(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) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...
(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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...
career began in 1953 in the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...
' organization, when he led the Class D Sooner State League in batting average (.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 for playing in 73 games, with 243 at bats, 41 runs scored, 76 hits, 13 doubles, two
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 ...
, 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 is ...
, 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 ba ...
, six stolen bases, 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 and 3 sacrifice hits. 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. 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 ...
'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, ...
and John Matias to the Chicago White Sox for Don Buford, Bruce Howard and
Roger Nelson Roger Nelson may refer to: *Roger Nelson (politician) (1759–1815), represented Maryland in the United States House of Representatives *Roger Nelson (skydiver) (1955–2003), founder of Skydive Chicago *Roger Nelson (Canadian football) (1932–199 ...
on November 29, 1967. He was later dealt along with Max Alvis from the Indians to the Brewers for Roy Foster,
Frank Coggins Franklin Coggins (May 22, 1944 – October 30, 1994) was an American professional baseball player. A switch-hitting native of Griffin, Georgia, who primarily played second base and shortstop, Coggins stood tall, weighed , and threw right-handed. ...
and cash during spring training 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 and 10 intentional walks. Defensively, he recorded a .981 fielding percentage 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 un ...
. 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 Nelson is a village and the county seat of Nuckolls County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 488 at the 2010 census. The city was named for C. Nelson Wheeler, the original owner of the town site. History The village was named as th ...
.


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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