Took a chance on Earl Snyder being in the line up Saturday when Durham came to Rochester for their single series in the Flower City and the gamble paid off. Since the Duke of Earl plays the majority of his teams' games each season it may not appear to be much of a risk, but somehow it seems he sits at least one of every three games when they're playing locally. Some of those times he coaches first so I get to see him, but not see him.
I got to see him Saturday, playing third, batting clean up. Good day at the plate for him, a first inning solo home run, a pair of singles, a couple RBIs and, incredibly, an intentional walk. Why incredibly, you say, thinking he's already jacked on. But he is among the league leaders in K! His strikeout to home run ratio is something like 4:1.
Foolish confession time.
I adore Earl Snyder.
He is my guilty pleasure. It doesn't make a lot of sense because he's the type of player I usually grant little attention or affection. He is a slow-footed slugger with waaaay too many strike outs and a correspondingly low OBP; small ball is not Earl's game. He's a first baseman, at least he was the first season I saw him play, and first basemen are not athletes, they're doorstops. He has also been hugely popular with fans, I usually prefer the overlooked, the dogged (David Wright notwithstanding.) Duke is also a great looking guy and "a nice young man," a phrase critics have used to damn him. Okay, the last two items aren't counts against him. It may be been timing as much as anything else that he became my favorite player; he appeared on the local diamond and within my sphere of consciousness exactly when I needed someone or something to anchor and buoy me.
I've followed him since his season in Binghamton where he was selected player of the year, through his time with Buffalo and his ten games with Cleveland, his years with Pawtucket were he was named the Red Sox organization's minor league player of the year in 2004 during which Earl had a quick cup of coffee, more of an espresso, making him a member of the World Champion Red Sox. I travel literally hundreds of miles to watch him play and love every minute of it. Although I keep hoping he gets another chance at the Show, I'm happy watching him as a veteran minor leaguer.
The most foolish part? I carry his Topps card in my purse everywhere I go. Though maybe that's not so foolish. If Bob Costas still has Mickey Mantle's card in his wallet, why shouldn't I keep Duke close at hand?
Other Gems
As someone said, every day you could see something at the ball game you've never seen before.
The Bulls had runners on first and second with no outs. The batter hit a grounder to third. The third baseman fielded it just behind the bag, stepped on third and fired to second, the second baseman pivoted and fired to first: a 5-4-3 triple play! A first for me, and a lot of the fans seated nearby. Triple plays are race enough, but usually the first out is a line drive caught. The Red Wings got a deserved standing ovation for the play.
The sign on the center field wall proclaims Rochester as "Baseball City". No argument here. The park itself is lovely, the staff friendly and helpful, the fans knowledgeable and engaged. The smattering of between inning promotions are minor diversions, not major entertainments as they often are in other parks. I've been to only a half-dozen AAA ballparks, but this is my favorite place to catch a game at this level of the minors.
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