Angels, Anaheim Stadium Prove Heavenly for Snyder

No matter what troubles might beset his hitting, it must be a great comfort for Cory Snyder to know he’ll always have the Angels.

Snyder, the Cleveland Indians right fielder, came into Monday’s game against the Angels at Anaheim Stadium--which Cleveland won, 7-3--having gone just eight for 52 in his last 13 games. He did not have a hit in his last 10 at-bats, had only five RBIs in his last 25 games and his batting average had dropped to .236.

Things weren’t going so hot.

But along came Monday, bringing with it Anaheim and the Angels. That tandem has been something of a tonic for Snyder throughout his four-year major league career.

He came into the game with a career .315 batting average against the Angels, with six home runs and 14 RBIs.

So it came as no surprise in the second inning, when Snyder came up for his first at-bat against Angel starter and loser Mike Witt, that he lined a single to center.

He eventually moved to third and scored the Indians’ second run on Oddibe McDowell’s sacrifice fly.

In the third, with two men on, Snyder, who had hit just one home run in his last 25 games, hit his seventh homer of the year to left field, giving Cleveland a 5-2 lead.

Snyder says it’s no coincidence that he usually does well in Anaheim.

“When I’m here, I’m home,” he said. “I’m 15 minutes away from my house.”

Snyder lives in Laguna Hills. Get the feeling he hasn’t been fighting rush hour on the Santa Ana freeway lately?

Anyway, he says that what with the family and friends and home cooking and the 15-minute drive home, he’s just much more comfortable.

“I want to do a little more when I’m here,” he said.

Of course, he seems to do a lot more at parks that aren’t in Cleveland.

For his career, Snyder is a much better hitter away from Cleveland Stadium. Coming into this season, Snyder was hitting .258. That broke down to .238 at home and .277 away. Last year was even more striking. He was .233 at home, .315 away.

Again, Snyder claims this is no coincidence.

“In the past, the fans in Cleveland have been pretty hard on us,” Snyder said. “I think that makes me press. When I’m on the road and I hear the fans get on us, I know that’s normal and I can relax.”

There’s no reason for Snyder to worry about pressing for a little while, at least, as the Indians have two more games with the Angels.