Van Voorhees Snider (born August 11, 1963) is an American 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 ...

for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

. Snider attended Shades Valley High School in Alabama where, in 1981, he committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

UAB Blazers The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs that represent the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The school is one of the fourteen member institutions of the American Athletic Conference and participates in Divisi ...

. In November 1981, however, he was attending Gadsden State Junior College when he signed a professional contract with 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. He played parts of two seasons for the Cincinnati Reds in 1988 and 1989. The Reds traded Jeff Montgomery to the Kansas City Royals for him on February 15, 1988, and he made his debut with Cincinnati on September 2, 1988, against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. After the 1989 season he was traded to 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) Am ...

, along with Tim Leary, for

Hal Morris William Harold Morris III (born April 9, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who played for several teams from 1988 to 2000, including a ten year stint with the Cincinnati Reds. From until 2016, he was the direc ...

and minor leaguer Rodney Imes. Snider never again played at the major league level, although he continued to play in the minors until 1995. Snider later became a police detective for the city of

Mayfield Heights, Ohio Mayfield Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 20,351 at the 2020 census. An eastern suburb of Cleveland, it is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. History Mayfield Heights was initially built up ...

, advancing to the rank of corporal. Snider is also part of the Drug Enforcement Unit which was established by the SPAN Chiefs and serves the local suburbs of Mayfield Heights, Mayfield Village, Lyndhurst, Highland Heights, Gates Mills, and Richmond Heights. Snider is married to former Mayfield Heights councilwoman Diane Marzano Snider and has six children.

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1963 births Living people Major League Baseball outfielders Cincinnati Reds players Baseball players from Alabama Nashville Sounds players Algodoneros de Unión Laguna players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Butte Copper Kings players Charleston Royals players Columbus Clippers players Diablos Rojos del México players Jacksonville Suns players Louisville Redbirds players Memphis Chicks players Omaha Royals players Pawtucket Red Sox players Salt Lake Buzz players 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-outfielder-1960s-stub