Snyder On an Upswing : Coming Home to the Dodgers Fulfills a Dream

“Keep that left shoulder in,” Tom Lasorda yelled. “That’s it. That’s the key to hitting.”

Uh-oh. Cory Snyder had been a Dodger barely a month and the first time he picked up a bat, somebody--heck, not just somebody, but Tom Lasorda--was trying to correct his swing.

Not a good omen.

But Snyder, who has been messed up by the best of them, remains positive these days. After all, he’s been up, down, and all over five towns in the past couple of years and now he’s wearing the blue-and-hospital-white uniform he dreamed about as a kid growing up close to Dodger Stadium.

This, he believes, is a very good omen.

“It’s a dream come true,” the former Canyon High standout said recently. “This place brings back so many good memories. Having played here during the Olympics and coming here as a kid. And it’s an hour from my (Laguna Hills) house.

“It’s more than that, though. It’s hard to explain, but the Dodgers have been ‘it’ for a long time. Everybody wants to play here. You know, it’s being in L.A., the weather, and this is such a great place to play. Everything always seems to be upbeat. When you’re playing somewhere else, you always hear about how much fun it is to play in L.A.”

A year ago, Snyder was playing very close to L.A., if you want to call taking swings in his back-yard batting cage as playing.

Actually, he was unemployed.

“It was the most scary time in my career,” he said. “I don’t think there was ever a point where I thought, ‘I just can’t do this anymore,’ but your confidence level really drops and you get into that why-is-this-happening-to-me thing.

“You keep asking yourself, ‘How did I get myself into this situation?’ ”

On the surface, the answer is easy.

Snyder finished fourth in the voting for rookie of the year in 1986 with Cleveland, led the Indians in home runs (33) in 1987 and had 26 homers with 75 runs batted in in ’88. But he began to struggle at the plate after a back injury in mid-1989 and his average and productivity plummeted, reaching an all-time low after being traded to the White Sox and then the Blue Jays in 1991.

His ’91 totals: three home runs, 17 RBIs and a .175 average.

Snyder, who struck out 101 times in 511 at-bats in 1988, struck out 60 times in 166 at-bats in 1991 and ended up with Toronto’s Syracuse farm club by August.

By then, every American League pitcher knew the drill. Get two strikes on Snyder and throw him a slider in the dirt.

When Snyder arrived in Chicago, he was confused, if not dazed. After a short time with the team, White Sox General Manager Ron Schueler told reporters Snyder was walking down the street and somebody yelled, “Try moving your hands,” and “he tried it.”

“A lot of times when you’re struggling, it may just be one little thing instead of some big adjustment,” Snyder said. “I just started listening to so many people tell me how bad my swing was and I started searching for a different hitting approach.

“I was trying this and that and everything and that’s where I went wrong. I should have just gone back to what got me to the big leagues in the first place.”

Not a bad notion. After all, Snyder’s horrible stroke had been good enough to rocket out a few balls and send his career soaring in the process.

He left Canyon High for Brigham Young and homered in his first three swings--not just his first three at-bats, but first three swings --as a collegian. He was the first player in NCAA history to hit 20 or more home runs in three consecutive seasons. He hit .450 as a junior with 27 homers and 85 RBIs and an NCAA single-season slugging-percentage record of .900.

To top off the year, he hit .400 with two homers in 20 at-bats for the 1984 U.S. Olympic team.

He was the fourth player selected in the draft and immediately showed why. His first year in pro baseball, he was named most valuable player in the double-A Eastern League after leading the league in home runs, RBIs and total bases. He was second in doubles and hits.

Funny, nobody noticed then how terrible his swing was.

“I was with the Indians for five years and had four different hitting instructors,” Snyder said. “Everybody has their own philosophy. Everybody teaches their own things. Looking back, I think with me it was just a couple of little things that went bad and then I started searching more and struggling more. I just got it in my head and got down on myself and started trying too hard.

“I think it’s something that happens in most people’s careers and I think the good guys know their talent, believe in it and fight back to pull out of those bad times.

“So, last spring, I decided to concentrate on doing the things that got me where I was in the beginning. I was determined to get my old swing back, get comfortable again and then work on the mental part.”

San Francisco offered Snyder the chance to jump-start his career during spring training last year. He not only made the team, he made National League pitchers wonder why their AL counterparts had had such an easy time with him.

Snyder hit .269 with 14 home runs and 57 RBIs in 124 games. He batted fourth most of the time, but he no longer considered every at-bat that didn’t produce a home run as less than successful.

He was driving two-out, RBI doubles to the opposite field. And some were saying Snyder was better than ever.

A shortstop in college and an outfielder much of his career with the Indians, Snyder played every position but pitcher and catcher last year and made only six errors in 357 total chances.

Despite his versatility and renewed vigor at the plate, the Giants--focused on trying to sign Barry Bonds--ignored the free-agent Snyder, who signed with the Dodgers on Dec. 5.

“I was a little surprised (the Giants) let me go,” Snyder said. “I guess they were going in a little different direction with Barry and everything, but I thought I had a pretty good year for them.”

So did Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president who signed Snyder to a two-year deal.

“I think Cory will end up helping us in a lot of ways,” Claire said. “He has power and versatility and you never know what might happen in any number of positions, whether it’s in the infield or the outfield. He can play a lot of positions.”

Snyder, 30, would like to play every day and, if he had his druthers, it would be at the same place.

“I really believe I can start somewhere for this team,” he said. “I’m not sure where yet, but it will all work out this spring. I’m going to show them what I can do everywhere and hopefully I can open some eyes. I think I’m young enough to play every day.

“I was drafted as a shortstop and I’d love to get back there, but we’ll just wait and see. Of course, I’ll play anywhere they need me.”

That, according to Lasorda, might be all over the field.

“Splitting his time around the field, I think Cory will end up playing in a whole lot of ballgames,” Lasorda said. “We’re going to use him in the role that will be most beneficial to the ballclub and I think that will be both in the outfield and infield.”

Fair enough. Scribble Snyder’s name all over the lineup card. Just don’t mess with his swing.