Blue Jays uber-hitting prospect Travis Snider has been through more than most 20-year-olds can handle. It's not often you see adjectives such as "self-actualized" in a sports story -- and come away believing it. The quotes from GM J.P. Ricciardi reflect how the Jays have treated Snider's burdens as fully part of what makes him a special young ballplayer. It's not a distraction or something he has deal with -- it's who he is.
That says a lot about the way the approach teams take with their young assets has changed, even when a lot of people still believe everyone in sports is as sensitive as a goddamn toilet seat. Who knows how many players this change in thinking has come oo late for, eh?
(On a smaller note, funny how Ricciardi, notorious for dodging the writers in Toronto, goes on the record with a reporter in another city about a touchy subject. Then again, sportswriters in Canada, present company included, generally wouldn't go there. It doesn't take Earl McRae to know people open up when you get away from the standard sports patter.)
Related:
Mill Creek's Travis Snider grows up fast in life and baseball (Larry Stone, Seattle Times, Feb. 27)
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Yeah, I really liked that article: quite an interesting glimpse into Snider's life. On a similar note, there was another interesting piece today by ESPN Page 2 writer Jeff Pearlman on an off-field issue affecting another Blue Jay, and how the spectre of the Mitchell Report overshadowed it.
Hi Andrew,
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