Goodbye, Brandon Snyder

I was sad the other day to hear that the Orioles sent former first round draft pick Brandon Snyder to the Rangers for cash considerations.

Snyder had played at every stop in the Orioles developmental system and played pretty well until he got to AAA Norfolk.  He got called up to the majors for cups of coffee in 2010 and 2011.

This photo was taken during my visit to Harbor Park in Norfolk in June 2010.

 I first met Brandon Snyder in April 2008 when the Frederick Keys visited the former Ernie Shore Field in Winston-Salem, NC.  I took my son, mom, brother, sister and 2 of my nieces to the game.  As my brother Andy and I were getting baseballs signed by Snyder, he mentioned that Matt Wieters was sitting on the other end of the dugout.  I replied "MATT WIETERS????" and he replied, "Yes, THE Matt Wieters.  Would you like for him to sign your ball, too?"  Of course we did, so Brandon called Wieters over and got our baseballs signed.  As they were signing, my son Christopher (who was 2 at the time) was crying, so Brandon reached into his bat bag and pulled out a game used baseball.  He said "Here, maybe this will make the little guy feel better, no wait, hold on..." He signed the ball and then handed it to Wieters to sign, then said, "Here you go."  Chris still has that ball on his shelf in his room.

Here is Brandon Snyder signing a softball and baseball for my nieces Grace and Alexis.  This was their first baseball game.

This is a signed ball I got from Snyder in Norfolk, also during my June 2010 trip.

I met Brandon Snyder again in June 2010 when I visited Norfolk for a Tides game.  Brandon was signing autographs when I asked him if he would sign my bat.  He said "Of course" and signed it in black sharpie.  As he was signing it, I thanked him for being so nice to us when we met him in Winston-Salem and it meant a lot that he took the time to try to console my crying baby, when a lot of people would be annoyed.  He looked up from signing the bat, shook my hand and thanked me.

As a baseball fan, when you get the opportunity to meet some of the players and especially if they are friendly, you really hope they succeed.  I really hate to see Brandon move on to another organization, but since he is going to the reigning 2-time AL Champions, I think this is a good thing for him.  I really hope that the change in scenery does him good and he tears it up at Spring Training. 

Brandon, if you ever see this blog, good luck to you and I wish only the best for you; a very friendly and classy ballplayer.  Thank you again for taking the time out to sign autographs for fans of all ages.

Getting the bug...

Now that the season is fully underway, I have a couple irons in the fire, so to speak, about catching some games in person this year. I fully intend to catch a lot more minor league games this year, as last year, we went to two games in Winston-Salem and had a blast. I got a bunch of autographs, met Brandon Snyder and Matt Weiters (yes THE Matt Weiters) and got a broken bat. That was in ONE trip. My ticket cost $7.00 and we were 3 rows behind the dugout. You can't beat that.

As I continue my weekly trek from Charlotte to Greenville, I have a more wide open venue for catching games. I have the possibility of catching Kinston Indian games (about 30 miles from my office in Greenville), Carolina Mudcat Games (in Zebulon, also about 30 miles from Greenville), Durham Bulls (David Price, anyone?) which are about 1.5-2 hours away, Winston-Salem Dash (most...awesome...name...ever...) when I go see my parents, Charlotte Knights (on the ass end of town around here...) and Kannapolis Intimidators (about 15-20 minutes from my house that you need to come and buy). Not a bad list of options.

Also, if you consider the fact that I am down the road from ECU, I can catch games there, as well as NCSU games because I will most likely be spending more time in that area because I finally have a friend who wants to share in all of my baseball joy that goes to school there... hahaha.

There is also the yearly pilgrimage to Camden Yards. Last year we had a good size crowd go with us: Me, my wife, my son, my little brother Andy and my cousin from Germany, Andreas all rode together in my wifes car, while Babe rode up on the train and met us at the hotel.

This year, I think I will scale back somewhat and return to the one on one approach, go with one good friend and have a blast. Mallory doesn't want to go this year because we are having our 5th wedding anniversary and for some odd reason, she doesn't feel that a baseball game is a good way to celebrate the fact that she hasn't smothered me with a pillow yet...

There's also the possibility of going to Cooperstown this year... Oh man, that would be SWEET!

Anyway, I'm excited. Once the house sells, the picture will be much clearer.