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Travis Snider Announces Retirement

By Anthony Franco | January 13, 2022 at 12:19pm CDT

Former major league outfielder Travis Snider announced his retirement on Instagram this morning. “Thank you baseball. You have given me countless relationships and experiences I will cherish for the rest of my life,” Snider wrote as part of his statement. “I am so thankful that I got to live out my childhood dream and share it with the people I love and care about. I have contemplated this day for a while but the time has finally come for me to hang up the spikes. … To my teammates, coaches, trainers, front office, and clubhouse families, thank you for all the amazing memories.”

A first-round pick of the Blue Jays in the 2006 draft, the left-handed hitting Snider quickly emerged as one of the sport’s more promising prospects. Baseball America ranked him among the league’s Top 100 farmhands over each of his first three full pro seasons. That included a #6 overall ranking heading into the 2009 campaign, not long after Snider had made his big league debut at age 20 late in the prior season.

Snider would go on to spend the next three-plus seasons in Toronto. He never emerged as the middle-of-the-order slugger evaluators and the Jays’ fanbase hoped he’d become, but he hit around a league average level over his first few seasons. Snider struggled in 2011, though, and the Jays traded him to the Pirates for Brad Lincoln at the following deadline. He spent the next couple years as a platoon outfielder in Pittsburgh, posting a career-best .264/.338/.438 showing over 359 plate appearances in 2014.

The following offseason, the Bucs traded Snider to the Orioles for Steven Brault and Stephen Tarpley. He didn’t perform well in Baltimore and wound up released in August. Snider hooked back on with Pittsburgh late in the season but was outrighted off the Bucs’ roster after appearing in 18 games.

That ultimately proved to be the final big league run for the Washington native, as Snider hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2015. He’s hung around the periphery of the majors as a high-priority depth option, logging Triple-A time with the Royals, Mets, Rangers, D-Backs and Braves over the past half-decade.

All told, Snider departs having appeared in eight big league seasons and suiting up in 630 games. Across 1,971 plate appearances, he hit .244/.311/.399 (93 wRC+) with 54 homers, 100 doubles and seven triples. Snider never blossomed into a star or even as a true everyday player, but he played in the bigs every year between 2008-15 and ultimately spent a decade and a half in affiliated ball. MLBTR congratulates Snider on his career and wishes him all the best in his post-playing days.

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53 Comments

  1. leefieux

    3 years ago

    Travis will open his own BBQ place now.

    Reply
    • Dustyslambchops23

      3 years ago

      Meats don’t clash!

      Reply
  2. Digdugler

    3 years ago

    I had such high hopes for you Lunchbox, but I wish you all the best.

    3
    Reply
    • Please, Hammer. Don't hurt 'em.

      3 years ago

      How did he get the nickname Lunchbox?

      2
      Reply
      • Dustyslambchops23

        3 years ago

        High school nickname based on his performance at the buffet table I believe

        1
        Reply
      • bucsfan0004

        3 years ago

        baltimore.cbslocal.com/2015/03/31/travis-snider-jo…

        2
        Reply
  3. cgallant

    3 years ago

    Did he ever really have a career to retire from?

    3
    Reply
    • rcerso75

      3 years ago

      Whenever these stories come out, there’s always that one idiot who thinks it’s funny to comment something like this. He did something that a very small handful of folks in this entire world can do. You’ll never achieve the success he did. He earned the right to retire from the Major Leagues. Just accept your douchebaggery and move on.

      46
      Reply
      • njbirdsfan

        3 years ago

        And there’s always someone like you to jump down everyone’s throat…need some sugar cubes for that high horse of yours?

        10
        Reply
        • rcerso75

          3 years ago

          Hahahahaha sorry your feelings were hurt so easily

          11
          Reply
        • myaccount2

          3 years ago

          NJBirdsFan- he’s not on a high horse, people just have little tolerance for lame, overused jokes to insult someone who is in the top .001% of their profession world-wide.

          18
          Reply
        • SalaryCapMyth

          3 years ago

          How does one criticize someone for being to critical without sounding hypocritical?

          2
          Reply
      • Sheep8

        3 years ago

        Right…what’s the difference between a .250 and .300 hitter…1 hit a week! See Bull Durham for further explanation, but it’s that fine if a line from Average to greatness

        4
        Reply
      • miltpappas

        3 years ago

        And we know he made at least 5.1 million bucks playing a game. And he’s still pretty much a kid. I can’t compare to that. I’d have to work until I was 192 to make that much money.

        1
        Reply
    • No Soup For Yu!

      3 years ago

      I bet it drives you nuts that he made more money before turning 35 than you’ll make in your entire life. Not bad for a guy who never really had a career.

      9
      Reply
      • smuzqwpdmx

        3 years ago

        A bit over $5M in major league salary, plus a $1.7M signing bonus and whatever he made in the minors.

        Besides, he’s already played in the big leagues and made enough money to set him up for life. Uprooting his life to go to Asia may not have much appeal.

        Reply
    • Sheep8

      3 years ago

      Better career than all of us!

      15
      Reply
      • bucsfan0004

        3 years ago

        Little known fact: Snider also struck out Joey Votto

        4
        Reply
    • For Love of the Game

      3 years ago

      Snider will turn 34 in a couple weeks. How many 34 year olds have earned $5 million so far in their jobs? Hopefully he was smart with his money.

      5
      Reply
      • bluejays4life

        3 years ago

        Plus 1.7 signing bonus.

        1
        Reply
    • 92jays

      3 years ago

      Cgallant. He played in the majors. That alone is a huge accomplishment

      6
      Reply
  4. hereallnight

    3 years ago

    I have a feeling he’d be a great player participant in an MLBTR chat.

    9
    Reply
  5. BirdieMan

    3 years ago

    Who?

    Reply
    • myaccount2

      3 years ago

      Soooo funny! I’ve never seen that joke before! You should consider stand-up.

      12
      Reply
    • rybowski

      3 years ago

      There is literally an article posted above that answers this question.

      Reply
  6. NWMarinerHawk

    3 years ago

    I thought this guy was gonna be a beast. He was a great prospect to trade for in MLB 09: The Show

    4
    Reply
  7. slimmycito

    3 years ago

    Good luck in retirement Lunchbox!! Was always one of my favourites on the Jays, always wanted to see him do well. I was pretty bummed when they traded him for Brad Lincoln

    3
    Reply
  8. SpendNuttinWinNuttin

    3 years ago

    Pirates legend. Thank you for all the high hopes and never following through. You and almost every pirates before you truly are inspirational for actually waking up to play for such a crappy franchise. Thank you Travis, wholeheartedly.

    Reply
  9. Dustyslambchops23

    3 years ago

    Prior to my nod to Dustin McGowan, my original nickname on MLBTR was LunchBox45.

    Snider was a dynamic prospect and at a time of an extremely empty cupboard he was a lot of Jays fans ray of hope. Jays previously always had a bad habit of bringing players up prematurely and not letting them work through their initial struggles before being sent back down. I’m not saying that the jays handling of him was the reason he didn’t reach his potential but I do wonder about confidence and mental state of players who never previously struggled being sent down after short struggles in the majors.

    That being said he was still such a great person and left it all on the field. If my math is correct he made about 7.5 Mil playing baseball, more than enough to open a BBQ restaurant.

    7
    Reply
    • chico65

      3 years ago

      Holy crap lunchbox I remember you. Whatever happened to notsureifsrs, start wearing purple, mb923 and all the old crew? Good to see you still kicking man. I see Silver is still around too

      Reply
      • Dustyslambchops23

        3 years ago

        Hey man!

        Not sure, the comment sections back then were so fun though.

        You got a great memory, I remember having a lot of good chats with the guys you mentioned, especially notsureifsrs

        Reply
        • chico65

          3 years ago

          The glory days! I remember your avatar was Snider on his follow through, I was never sure if it was after a HR or K lol. Good to see you still around. Notsureifsrs is probably running a front office somewhere…

          Reply
  10. HalosHeavenJJ

    3 years ago

    Dude made it so much farther than 99.99% of guys who lace up cleats and grab a bat. He loved the game enough to stick around on minors deals, grind, and work his butt off for another shot at the bigs.

    Massive respect for guys like this.

    Enjoy retirement.

    9
    Reply
  11. Edp007

    3 years ago

    This young man had a very difficult tragic youth , overcame much , always rooted for him. A link , after reading everyone will understand that he’s a special person. Good luck in retirement Travis. archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20060813�…

    2
    Reply
    • For Love of the Game

      3 years ago

      Thanks for the article, 007. It’s another reminder that these players are human beings, not robots.

      2
      Reply
    • disadvantage

      3 years ago

      Thank you for sharing!

      1
      Reply
  12. Old York

    3 years ago

    Nice job with the 4.3 career WAR. $5 Million to go along with that.

    1
    Reply
  13. tiredolddude

    3 years ago

    Yet another guy who showed flashes of brilliance here in Pittsburgh before flaming out completely. You mean he’s not interested in Japan, like everyone else??

    1
    Reply
    • rond-2

      3 years ago

      Yep the Pirates had big hopes for Travis which unfortunately didn’t pan out.

      1
      Reply
    • smuzqwpdmx

      3 years ago

      Snider had a bad year in AAA in 2021, so he wasn’t going to get an NPB contract offer. He’d have to have gone for that a few years earlier.

      Besides, he’s already played in the big leagues and made enough money to set him up for life. Uprooting his life to go to Asia may not have much appeal.

      1
      Reply
  14. jorge78

    3 years ago

    Good luck Travis!

    Reply
  15. brucenewton

    3 years ago

    Over 5 million earned. Not to shabby. Hopefully he invested well.

    1
    Reply
  16. 92jays

    3 years ago

    I saw him hit a home run at the skydome. He hit it so hard it left the park in 3 seconds

    1
    Reply
  17. louwhitakerisahofer

    3 years ago

    This is a good dude. Remember when the Pirates were in Chicago and we chatted for 10 minutes or so on the warning track/bleachers. He’s the type that spotted kids in the stands and made sure to give out balls and autographs as much as possible. Best of luck to him.

    6
    Reply
  18. 66TheNumberOfTheBest

    3 years ago

    Good guy. Had fun playing. Didn’t realize he’s been out of the bigs that long.

    1
    Reply
    • Fever Pitch Guy

      3 years ago

      Agreed, Travis is a good guy … it’s not like we’re talking about Brett Lawrie here. There’s no justification for all the Snider-hate.

      1
      Reply
  19. Mendoza Line 215

    3 years ago

    He was a real good fourth outfielder for the Pirates in 2014 but Polanco was called up to start in right field which eliminated any chance to stay there for Snider.He fell off a cliff in Baltimore and I always wondered whether he was bummed out from leaving the Pirates where he had a following.He hung in there for a number of years afterwards but one only gets a few chances to stay in the ML.I wish him well as I think that he seemed to be a good guy.

    Reply
  20. neurogame

    3 years ago

    He spent 15 years in and around MLB. I.’m sure with his experience and perspective, he’ll land a FO job some where

    Reply
  21. Metsfan9

    3 years ago

    I’ll always remember this guy for his HR robbery at Citi Field when he was on the Pirates back in the day. Best of luck in retirement Travis!

    Reply
    • MrSeptember

      3 years ago

      I’ll always remember him for the right hook he took from Martin Maldonado

      Reply
      • Junbug11

        3 years ago

        The most impressive hit in his career.

        Reply
  22. BuJoBi

    3 years ago

    One of the biggest bust for the jays ever. He looked so good coming up.

    Reply
  23. ghost of dave kingman

    3 years ago

    I’ll never forget his sick catch at citi field in
    Dickeys 20th win game

    Reply

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