Wherever baseball takeshim, Snow is ready to play
Hernando High star bides his time in independent league waiting for another shot at the big leagues.
By DAVE MURPHY
Published July 6, 2006
SHREVEPORT, LA - Bert Snow leans back in a metal folding chair and places his arms behind his head. Around him, teammates trickle into the Shreveport Sports clubhouse at a leisurely pace.
Across town, on either side of the Red River, the casinos that began popping up in this city of 200,000 in 1995 beckon those seeking fortune and those seeking a way to make the next month's rent.
Outside, on the playing surface of Fairgrounds Field, players clad in blue shorts and white shirts begin their warm-ups beneath mostly cloudy skies.
Life for Snow is different here.
Different than it was in Brooksville, where he starred on the Hernando High baseball team in the late 1990s. Different than it was in Midland, Texas, where he saved 27 games for the Oakland A's Double-A affiliate in 2000. Different than it was in Oakland, where Snow entered spring training in 2001 on the cusp of breaking into the big leagues.
But, he says, it isn't as different as you think. Because, in the end, he is still playing baseball.
"I remember hearing an interview with Nolan Ryan, about the different games inside a game," Snow says. "Every inning is its own game, and then every (at-bat) is its own game, and then every pitch is its own game. If you think about it, its really cool to break it down that way.
"That's the one thing I think is really neat about baseball."
Professional baseball has been a long, interesting ride for Snow. After a three-year career at Vanderbilt, Snow was selected by the Athletics in the 10th round of the 1998 draft.
There, he began his rise through the minor league system, getting promoted from the organization's rookie-league team to its Class-A affiliate at the end of the season. He also began a battle with injuries that would always seem to hamper him at the worst possible moments.
In October 1998, soon after the end of his first minor league season, doctors discovered a blood clot that was causing swelling in his pitching arm. They diagnosed him with thoracic outlet syndrome, a rare condition that causes a narrowing of the veins. In order to remove pressure, he had surgery to remove a rib.
The following spring, he shook off some early season struggles in Class A and was promoted to Double-A Midland, where he finished with 13 saves and 32 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched. At the end of the season, he earned a spot in the prestigious Arizona Fall League.
In 2000, he led the Texas League in saves, struck out 98 in 67 innings pitched and was named to the Athletics 40-man roster at the end of the season.
The following spring, though, Snow was pitching in a preseason game when he felt a weird sensation in his throwing arm.
A few days later, the worst was confirmed: he had blown out his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery.
After the surgery and yearlong rehab, Snow wasn't the same.
He says he lost about 5 mph on his fastball, which before the surgery was in the mid-to-low 90s.
He eventually returned to Midland. But in 2004, he again needed surgery, this time to remove scar tissue in his elbow.
Out of minor league options and with an ailing elbow, the Athletics released him.
"I was a little frustrated," Snow says. "This is what I've done my whole life. You get to a crossroads and you are like, Now what?"
Now, Snow is here in Shreveport, the ace on a team that on Sunday clinched the American Association of Independent Baseball South Division's first-half title. He spent time with San Diego in spring training, but was released and again signed with the Sports.
After switching from the bullpen to the starting rotation last season, Snow went 11-6 with a 3.92 ERA, striking out 122 in 1212/3 innings pitched.
On Tuesday, he allowed just one run and three hits in six innings, but picked up the loss in a 1-0 defeat.
In 11 games, he is 4-3 with a 3.48 ERA and has struck out 58 batters in 671/3 innings pitched.
Sports manager Bob Flori said Snow's biggest challenge is to find a third pitch, because he isn't throwing 93, 94, 95 mph anymore, he needs to add some off-speed stuff to his repertoire.
Snow says he still thinks about getting back into a major league team's system, about picking up where he left off a few years ago.
But, he acknowledges, the odds get slimmer with each passing year. The independent leagues are filled with guys who have had their shot and with guys who are looking for their shot.
As Snow gets up from his chair, grabs his Styrofoam cup of coffee, and heads out onto the field for another game, it appears that, at the moment, he fits into both categories.