MINOR LEAGUE NOTEBOOK / JOHN WEYLER : J.T. Snow Wants a Major Promotion

J.T. Snow, a devout Dodger fan as a youngster, never had a love for Yankee pin-stripes. Now, after a 3 1/2-year hit parade through the ranks of New York’s minor league system, he’s of the opinion that the Yankees have the best organization in baseball.

And still, he wouldn’t mind getting out.

Snow, 24, is a first baseman who’s spraying line drives around the triple-A International League for the Columbus Clippers. But the Yankees already have a pretty good first baseman (Kevin Maas) waiting his chance to play behind a pretty great first baseman (Don Mattingly).

So the expansion draft is starting to look pretty good to Snow. Toss out the pin-stripes and bring on one of those Florida Marlin or Colorado Rockies uniforms . . . whatever they look like.

“The Yankees have to protect the guys who have proven they can play at the big league level first,” Snow said. “So if I’m picked up by one of those teams, I’ll have no problem with it. I’ll play for anybody in the big leagues. But the Yankees have been good to me and I think they’re a class organization.

“I think I’m just a step away from the big leagues and the Yankees have a couple of quality players up there, but I’ve always tried not to think about the roadblocks ahead of me. I just try to play the best I can and put up some numbers.”

He’s done that at every level. In rookie ball, he hit .292 with eight homers and 51 runs batted in. In Class A, he drove in 72 runs and was named to the Carolina League All-Star team. At double-A Albany, he was second on the team in home runs (13) and third in RBIs (76) and hits (133), and was named to the Eastern League All-Star team.

And now he’s showing he deserved the promotion to Columbus. He’s third in the league with a .309 batting average and has eight doubles, three homers and 26 RBIs.

Snow, son of former Ram receiver Jack Snow, was a three-sport standout at Los Alamitos High School who didn’t make a lot of points at home when he decided to concentrate on baseball at the University of Arizona. He says his father has always been a positive influence, however.

“When I first started playing only baseball in college, it was hard for him to understand that in baseball, as a hitter, you’re going to fail more than you succeed,” he said. “He was used to playing once a week and performing every week. Every Sunday, he caught balls. So he couldn’t understand why you can’t get a hit every night.”

Snow has moved up a level each year, but it hasn’t always been easy. And now he realizes his ability to deal with slumps is what has made him a prospect for the major leagues.

“I’ve progressed a long way mentally, learning how to play the game every day and take the good with the bad,” he said. “Your first year, you want to do so well and impress everybody and feel like you belong. But I didn’t handle the ups and downs, the moments of frustration, very well then.

“Now, with some maturity, I’ve learned to put it all in perspective.”

A switch-hitter, Snow struggled from the right side last year. A natural left-hander, he was trying to hit with the same free swing and power from both sides of the plate. He has since learned to concentrate on making contact and hitting line drives as a right-handed batter.

“That’s what this game is all about,” he said. “You have to constantly correct things.”

Sometimes, the corrections are minor but the results are major. Snow opened this season with a six-game, three-for-17 slump. Clipper Manager Rick Down, a former Angel hitting instructor, suggested a slight widening of his stance and a bit more bend at the knees.

“Ever since then, I’ve been going pretty good,” Snow said.

Snow admits he’s pleased with his progress and excited about his chances of soon making the big step to the big leagues. And he thanks the Yankees, who drafted him in the fifth round in 1989, for a smooth ride up the minor league ladder.

“I was really surprised when they drafted me because I hadn’t even talked to them before the draft,” he said. “It was kind of weird, but once I got into the organization it was immediately evident they have a lot of pride.

“Some guys get rushed too soon and their confidence gets shattered, but with me, they’ve taken time, allowed me to progress one step at a time. It’s a first-class organization all the way. They treat their players better and they even pay better.”

That’s one way to turn a Yankee hater into a pin-stripe lover.

The Cinderella story of Greg Mathews continues.

Mathews, who was the seventh pitcher on the Cal State Fullerton staff in 1984 and never even threw a pitch as the Titans won the College World Series that year, eventually made an appearance in the major league World Series with St. Louis in 1987.

Mathews, a left-hander who also pitched at Savanna High School and Rancho Santiago, appeared to be headed for retirement in the spring of 1989, when he tore the medial collateral ligament in his pitching elbow.

Dr. Frank Jobe transferred a tendon from his forearm to the elbow during reconstructive surgery and Mathews was sidelined for the remainder of the season. His comeback attempt in 1990--a 0-5 record and 5.33 earned-run average with the Cardinals and a 0-2, 9.22 ERA at triple-A Louisville--left the Cardinals unimpressed and they released him.

He signed with Kansas City, but the Royals released him during spring training last year and he then signed with Milwaukee.

Now, Mathews is with the Phillies’ triple-A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, and he’s putting up some numbers that could require major league consideration. He’s 3-1 with a 1.99 ERA. He has 21 strikeouts and four walks in 31 2/3 innings.