While he wasn’t the first high school hitter taken in the 2006 draft, an argument can be made that Travis Snider, 18, has as much potential as any high school bat taken last June. Putting up a .325/.412/.567 vital line in his professional debut (194 Rookie Ball at-bats), The 5-foot-10, 245-pound outfielder is a flat out masher.
Through an email interview, Snider told us about his legendary “Broadway Shot,” what it meant to be drafted as a high schooler in the first round by the Blue Jays, and why that 245-pound figure above likely won’t be next to his name in 2007.
Project Prospect: What was harder: quitting football after your sophomore year in high school or leaving your Jackson High School baseball teammates in Mill Creek, Washington to go play baseball on the other side of the country?
Travis Snider: Giving up football after my sophomore year was the hardest thing I had to do in my athletic career. Standing in front of my teammates and telling them I would not be there to lead them on the field broke me down.
PP: During your senior year in high school, you let it be known that Jackson High School was aiming for an undefeated season. Not only did your team go on to accomplish that goal (27-0), but you guys finished the year ranked as the No. 2 high school team in the country by Baseball America. What kind of confidence did that achievement give you entering your professional career?
Snider: Having the season we did was a great boost to my confidence going into my
first season of pro ball. I would have to say, though, it gave me even more
confidence during the high school season because I know I could go out there
and have a bad game and the great players around me were going to get us the
victory.
PP: You kept your teammates prepared during captain’s practices in high school, where – as we understand – you would lead 14-16 of them in practices three times a week. How did the idea of captain’s practices come about?
Snider: The idea of running captains practices came about on my college recruiting
visits. At ASU, the captains had the team out practicing during the fall when
the coaches could not legally be involved. As a team, we knew we were going
to have the most talent in the state. For us, it was a matter of making sure
we worked harder then any other team so that we were prepared to go out and
do what we did.
PP: Can you describe the flight of you’re famous “Broadway Shot,” from the district playoffs and its significance to us?
Snider: The Broadway Shot was the home run I hit against our rival school in the
district playoff. It was a hanging curveball at about eye level and I was
lucky enough to get solid contact on it. Once it was hit, I had no doubt it
was gone, I just had no idea how far it was going to go.
Some of my friends who were up in the press box said that it traveled over the seventy five
foot net in right center, over a parking lot, and onto Broadway. That’s where
the name came from. It was the farthest ball I had hit up until that point
in my career.
PP: Did it mean something extra to you when the Toronto Blue Jays – a team that hadn’t drafted a high school player in the first round since J.P. Ricciardi became GM – began to express serious interest in drafting you?
Snider: It was an honor to be scouted so heavily by an organization like the Blue
Jays because of their history in drafting college players. They were the
team that came to see me play the most, but I knew that I would have to go
and have a good pre-draft workout at Rogers Center in front of J.P. if they
were going to take me that early. Thankfully things went well and I am very
happy to be apart of such a great organization.
PP: How have you been able to stay focused after being given a $1.7 million signing bonus from the Blue Jays?
Snider: The signing bonus to me was a great opportunity to help support my family
financially and take a lot of pressure off of my parents. But as for my focus
on my career, nothing was changed. I still take pride and going out and
playing hard everyday, whether they gave me $1.7 Million or a thousand dollars. It is
the opportunity to make it to the big leagues that keeps me focused, not the
money.
PP: What did winning the Appalachian League MVP award mean to you?
Snider: Winning the Appalachian League MVP was a great first step in my professional
career. My goals coming into the season were to go out and play hard and do
everything I could to help my team win. The MVP award was something
personally that I feel very honored to receive. But as I get into my
offseason, it is something to be put in the past and focus on next season and
continuing to play hard and have success.
PP: How’s your wrist and what do the Blue Jays have you doing this fall?
Snider: The wrist is doing great and felt fine all through instructional leagues. My
goals in the offseason are to prepare myself to be in better shape to avoid
the small injuries like that so I can stay healthy through my first full
season of professional baseball.
PP: You vs. any player in the Blue Jays organization in an eating contest, who wins?
Snider: There are some pretty big boys throughout the organization so I am not going
to say I will win any eating contest. But most people who know me will tell
you I can put a pretty big dent in a buffet. As for the eating contest,
those are things I am trying to avoid so I can get my weight back down to
225. But maybe down the road I will get the opportunity to get some guys to
sit down with me and get after it.
Adam Foster can be reached at adamwfoster@gmail.com.