Transaction of Today...February 18, 1917 - The Boston Braves release Fred Snodgrass
In the overall story of his career, there isn't a lot to say about Fred Snodgrass's run with the Boston Braves. For that matter, there isn't much to say about the Boston teams he played for. To be clear, they weren’t some of the bad Boston teams. Hell, the 1916 team even had the NL lead for a few days in September before a seven-game slide that dropped them behind the leader. And Snodgrass was a decent performer on that squad, posting a 2.2 rWAR with a 100 OPS+ as the team's center fielder.
But the 135 games that finished his career weren't as noteworthy as the 788 that had preceded it when he was a member of the New York Giants.
Well, that’s not entirely true, either. It was just the one game that he's remembered for.
Snodgrass was born in Ventura, California in 1887. He later attended St. Vincent's College, the first school of higher learning in Southern California. Later, the school would be folded into Loyola University which also eventually merged with Marymount, giving us Loyola-Marymount University. Hey, it could be a Jeopardy question.
Whatever the case, while at St. Vincent's, Snodgrass was noticed by John McGraw as the Giants were holding their spring training in Los Angeles. Dodgers fans are clutching their pearls at that. Not to be intimidated by the future Hall of Famer, Snodgrass even held his own with the fiery manager as McGraw umpired a game while Snodgrass was catching. Impressed, McGraw later offered the young player a contract. Once his commitment to St. Vincent's ended, Snodgrass headed to New York to meet the Giants late in the 1908 season. He played six times, batting four times, and picked up a single in his first plate appearance against Cardinals pitcher, Slim Sallee.
Snodgrass was blocked behind the plate so he began to move around the field, looking for a permanent spot. Meanwhile, he struggled to find playing time, only playing in 28 games during 1909 while playing all three outfield spots in addition to time at catcher and first base. He hit .300, though. The following season, he settled into an everyday role in center and flirted with a batting title before finishing with an excellent slash of .321/.440/.332. He was just 22 and was expected to be a major star for the Giants for years to come.
In 1911, he kept hitting, posting a .781 OPS to go with a career-high 10 triples. The kid, who picked up the nickname "Snow," played every inning of the World Series that fall. He picked up a pair of singles in Game 2, but went hitless in the other five games and the Giants fell to their eventual Bay Area neighbors, the Philadelphia A's. Nevertheless, it was the first trip to the Fall Classic in six years for the Giants and they were led by several young players like Fred Merkle, Larry Doyle, Josh Devore, and Red Murray to go along with Snodgrass. Rube Marquard had grown into a heck of a second arm to pair with Christy Mathewson, too.
The Giants had the makings of a potential dynasty and the team rolled through the National League in 1912. They took over the league's top spot on May 21 and would never look back. They finished with 103 wins and were headed back to the World Series.
For Snodgrass, it was a chance for redemption. Not only had he struggled tremendously at the plate the previous fall, his first World Series was marred by a play many felt was dirty. After first trying to intentionally get hit by a pitch, Snodgrass earned a walk following the umpire calling him out for his weak attempt to get on base in the first place. Getting hit by a pitch was part of Snodgrass’s MO. He was hit by 65 of them and often wore baggy clothes to try to “take one for the team.”
After reaching base, Snodgrass advanced on a sacrifice bunt and tried to take third on a passed ball. However, the ball beat Snodgrass with plenty of time and, for reasons, Snodgrass spiked the third baseman. It opened a wound that stopped play for several minutes. The fans of Philly were incensed and I think we all know that Philadelphia fans aren't the type to reasonably present their disagreements when it comes to public enemies like Snodgrass. No batteries were thrown at him, but there were rumors he had been shot. Instead, McGraw sent him back to New York where he waited as the series endured a period of rain that kept the two teams from playing for a week. Possibly a little shellshock, Snodgrass looked rather feeble when the series did restart.
But 1912 could have been different. Except...it was worse.
Snodgrass performed okay over the first seven games of the series. Yes, because of a tie, this series went to eight games. He wasn’t great by any means - he managed just six hits including a pair of doubles. But certainly better than he had hit in 1911. That led to a game-deciding final game to be played at Fenway Park against the Red Sox. The game was tied at one when, in the top of the tenth, Merkle singled off Smoky Joe Wood to score Murray to put the Giants on top. They were three outs away with Mathewson coming out to pitch the tenth inning. A title was well within their grasp.
Clyde Engle hit for Wood to open the bottom of the 10th. He sent a fly ball toward right-center field. Snodgrass called off Murray, who was, to be clear, the closer player. But the center fielder can call for the ball over anyone else and Snodgrass elected to take over. However, the easy flyball was simply dropped. Engle ended up on second.
While Snodgrass would be the target of scorn for what was about to transpire - that his mistake opened the floodgates - it is important to remember that Snodgrass's mistake was just one event. In fact, Snodgrass would make a great catch to record the next out on a play that could have easily gone for a double. But Mathewson then walked a batter in front of Tris Speaker - not a good plan. However, Speaker popped up a ball that should have been the second out. And it would have been. Had Matthewson not directed his catcher, Chief Meyers, to catch the foul popup, that is. The ball was an easier catch for Merkle at third, but Mathewson - like Snodgrass before him - made the call and it was a poor one. Meyers failed to get to the ball and it dropped harmlessly. Giving Speaker another chance was a mistake as he singled in Engle. After an intentional pass, the Series ended on a sacrifice fly.
You have to think Merkle had some sympathy for Snodgrass. After all, it was "Merkle's Boner" in late September of 1908 that erased a would-be game-winning hit. Just 19, Merkle failed to advance from first to second on a RBI single that should have given the Giants a walk-off win over the Cubs. As fans mobbed the field, Merkle assumed the game was over and headed back to the dugout. Johnny Evers noticed, retrieved the ball, and stepped on the bag. Merkle was out and the game ended in a 1-1 tie. That led to a makeup game at the end of the year, which the Cubs won. They went on to win the 1908 World Series, their last World Series title for over a century until 2016. Had Merkle simply finished his jog to second base, the Cubs wouldn't have played in the Fall Classic.
Snodgrass had a nice 1913, but it looks like he may have been injured late in the year? I didn't find much to support that, though he only played in one of the team's final ten games after starting 133 of the first 146 in center. You don't typically decide to stop using your center fielder like that. Another source said this came down to a manager’s decision. Whatever the case, Snodgrass was barely seen in the World Series. He started just two games in the World Series - one at first base and one in center - and only played six innings total. He'd manage a hit in his three at-bats, finishing his World Series career with a .185/.279/.222 slash. And one dropped ball. Also, the Giants dropped their third consecutive World Series.
After his numbers fell in 1914, Snodgrass would enter a prolonged hitting slump the following year before moving to the Braves in mid-August. Just a year before, as the Boston Braves were trying to complete their magical comeback, Snodgrass was at the center of a bit of a situation. Lefty Tyler seemed to have a bone to pick with Snodgrass as he knocked him down four consecutive times and mocked the man for his blunder in 1913. Snodgrass predictably returned fire, sending verbal spars toward the Braves hurler. The Boston crowd let him have it and he thumbed his nose at them. Now, that might not mean much in 2024, but it was reason enough in 1914 for the Boston mayor to come onto the field and demand Snodgrass be ejected. Baseball is a strange sport.
Snodgrass bounced back a little after joining Boston to end in 1915. He followed that up with a pretty decent, especially for the time, 1916 while manning center field almost exclusively after June. He posted a .343 OBP in July, but his numbers weren't nearly as impressive over the final two months. He especially struggled once Boston entered a tailspin following their flirtation with the league lead around Labor Day. Over his final 26 games, he was held to a .585 OPS.
Just 28, Boston decided they had seen enough of Snodgrass and on this day in 1917, they jettisoned their starting center fielder. It wouldn't help the Braves, who fell under .500 in 1917.
Snodgrass returned to California. He played a year in the Pacific Coast League before retiring. He went into the appliance business and also became a banker in Oxnard. He even entered politics, rising to mayor before resigning to buy a ranch. That's where he grew lemons and walnuts with his wife and daughter.
But no matter what he did, he never lived down that mistake in 1912. Even his New York Times obituary read, "Fred Snodgrass, 86, Dead; Ball Player Muffed 1912 Fly."
That’s cold.
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