J. T. Snow

Infobox MLB retired
name=J. T. Snow

---

|width=225
position=First baseman
bats=Left
throws=Left
birthdate=birth date and age|1968|2|26
city-state|Long Beach|California
debutdate=September 20
debutyear=by|1992
debutteam=New York Yankees
finaldate=September 27
finalyear=by|2008
finalteam=San Francisco Giants
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.268
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=189
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=877
teams=
* New York Yankees (by|1992)
* California Angels (by|1993-by|1996)
* San Francisco Giants (by|1997-by|2005)
* Boston Red Sox (by|2006)
* San Francisco Giants (by|2008)
highlights=
* 6x Gold Glove Award winner (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)

Jack Thomas "J. T." Snow, Jr. (born February 26, 1968 in city-state|Long Beach|California) is a former Major League Baseball player. He played all but two games in his career as a first baseman, and played nine of his 13½ seasons with the San Francisco Giants. He was known for his exceptional defense.

Early years

Snow is the son of former NFL Los Angeles Rams Pro Bowl wide receiver Jack Snow.

Snow attended Los Alamitos High School in city-state|Los Alamitos|California and played baseball and football with future teammate Robb Nen. After high school, Snow played three seasons at the University of Arizona. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the fifth round of the by|1989 baseball amateur draft. Snow broke into the Majors with the Yankees at the end of the mlby|1992 season.

After his father's death in 2006, Snow wore his father's number 84 in his honor. Snow is married and resides in the San Francisco Bay Area year-round.

California Angels (1993-96)

Traded to the California Angels that year as part of the Jim Abbott deal, Snow played for them from mlby|1993 to mlby|1996.

an Francisco Giants (1997-2005)

He was traded to the Giants after the 1996 season for left-handed pitcher Allen Watson and minor league pitcher Fausto Macey.

While a switch-hitter earlier in his career, Snow batted exclusively left-handed after mlby|1998. In mlby|2000 he led the league in sacrifice flies with 14. After a two year injury-riddled stretch from mlby|2002-mlby|2003 where his batting average was .246, Snow rebounded in mlby|2004 with a .327 average, hitting .387 after the All-Star break (which ranked second only to Ichiro Suzuki in the Major Leagues).

He used "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who as his intro music for his at-bats. He also used "Right Now" by Van Halen for a time.

Two memorable moments with the Giants

In the 2002 World Series as Snow was scoring in Game 5 off a Kenny Lofton triple, he swooped up by the back of the jacket and carried off the batboy, 3-year-old Darren Baker. The young batboy and son of then Giants’ manager Dusty Baker was at home plate to collect Lofton's bat before the play was completed. This turned into a touching and memorable incident, but easily could have resulted in disaster with a small child wandering into the path of Snow and David Bell as they both barreled home to score. Following the incident with Darren Baker, Major League Baseball required batboys and girls to be at least 14 years of age.

In the 2000 National League Division Series against the New York Mets, with the Giants trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Snow hit a three-run pinch-hit homer against Mets reliever Armando Benitez. However, the Giants failed to capitalize on their momentum, eventually falling in the 10th inning and going on to lose the series. The Giants' loss of the game and series ultimately robbed Snow's dramatic feat of much of its lustre.

Boston Red Sox (2006)

Snow's tenure with the Giants effectively ended when the team declined to offer him salary arbitration before the mlby|2006 season. He signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Boston Red Sox on January 6, 2006. He served primarily in a platoon with Kevin Youkilis at first base until he requested to be designated for assignment due to a lack of playing time. He was granted his designation June 19, and was officially released eight days later.

Retirement

At the end of the 2006 season, Snow retired from baseball and began doing radio broadcasts with the San Francisco Giants in the mlby|2007 season. He also serves as an advisor to the Giants' general manager, Brian Sabean, and as a roving minor league instructor for the Giants.

When he returned for a visit to AT&T Park at the end of the 2006 season, Snow received a standing ovation when he was featured on the Jumbotron.

On September 24, mlby|2008, the Giants signed Snow to a one-day contract, and he took the field on September 27 against the Dodgers, but was replaced before the first pitch. It was a move that allowed Snow to retire as a Giant. Eugenio Vélez, Omar Vizquel, and Rich Aurilia threw balls in the dirt to mess with Snow, but Snow still made the plays. [http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_10550760?nclick_check=1]

alary

ee also

* Top 500 home run hitters of all time
* Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game

References

External links