Travis Snider tries so goddamned hard that sometimes, it hurts just to watch him.Last night, mired in a two week stretch of (vaguely productive) futility, Snider assumed his rightful place in the two-hole of the lineup. What followed, as the game progressed, was a devolution of Snider's mood from determination to frustration to desperation, as he worked his way through an ugly blur of strikeouts, bats snapped over his knee, and absurdly desperate head-first dives into first base.
Snider was going to will his way out of his slump, or he was going to kill himself trying.
It's always been a part of the Snider mythology that he's been a passionate and sensitive guy who struggles to keep his emotions in check. Over the past few years, he's been open to the beat reporters on how he's worked to keep them in check and keep himself balance. But towards the end of last night's game, we began worrying about what he might do if faced with time on the bench or worse, a trip to join Jesse Litsch in Vegas to right himself and tee off on bad breaking pitches and straight fastballs. (As if that would be any help at this point.)
When Snider stepped to the plate in the 10th, it wasn't just the game on the line. We worried that a poor at bat might just result a monumental breakdown. Throwing himself to the ground and pounding dirt until it gave way to concrete.
And then, Snider reached down in the zone with his third bat of the evening, with a level and balanced swing, something that's been in short supply lately. And there it went, an arcing liner, solidly up the gap between the right and centre fielders, to the wall scoring the walkoff winning run. (And if you watch the replay, you can see that fortune smiled on Snider and the Jays, as that ball was inches away from bouncing over for a ground rule double.)
We're certain that the emotion laid bare on the field afterwards by Snider and his teammates on the field was echoed across the country. When someone so clearly wants to succeed as badly as Snider does, you can't help but invest from your own emotional reserves in their success.
That might be why he's our favourite player right now. Because with every at bat, we ache like he aches.
(Photo? Filled with emotion. Reuters, via Daylife.)
11 comments:
Well said. I was sitting up in 523, just willing Snider's swing to be bang-on, willing him to hit for the win. It's felt like every progressive game, it's getting tougher to be him. Fielding, hitting... he's trying so hard - too hard. He needed that win last night. He needed to be the hero. And I'm hoping it's the beginning of a lot of good stuff from Snider.
It was an emotionally draining game just to watch, I can't imagine how it must have been for Snider. It was worth it, however, because the end result was so very satisfying. That feeling is what makes baseball addicts of us all.
Just ask Carl Crawford how hard it is to hit when your pressing.
An excellent post which expresses what most of us feel about Snider. I'm trying to think how long it's been since we had a young player who everyone wanted to succeed as badly as we all want Snider to succeed. Maybe it's because we all believe in his monster upside or maybe it's because we know his story and watch him leave everything he's got on the field every game. Then again, I'm also not sure how long it's been since we saw a player who wanted to succeed as badly as he does. Let's enjoy the ride.
Great work. I felt similarly for Snider. I hope he can battle through it.
A mutual friend of ours explained to me a couple weeks ago that Snider is probably a bust because he hasn't done much. I didn't argue the point because I was busy rolling a couple joints, but I wish you were there to lose your shit and drop some knowledge on him.
You pretty much summed it up. I ordered a Snider jersey last week as a sign of karmic good faith, hoping that by investing in him while his career was (somewhat) legitimately being questioned for the first time - somehow that would translate into the baseball gods rewarding him with a hot streak. Needless to say that by the time his 6th AB came around last night, my infinite optimism was beginning to waver.
The only other two jerseys I've ever owned were Delgado and Halladay, so hopefully this investment can come somewhere close to those two.
Beautifully put. Snider is the embodiment of the hope and frustration which go hand in hand with the entire long-term rebuilding project.
This is a fine piece of sports journalism.
Very well put. When he smashed his bat, I felt it snap from my living room. It spoke volumes about the kid's heart, emotions, and desire to win. It's hard not to appreciate that kind of emotion and effort. Such a stark contrast from the ho-hum frowns and shakes of the heads from prior Jays leaders in years past.
agreed, well said. I think the collective unconscious was cheering him on too.
This cannot have effect in actual fact, that's what I think.
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