Acid Flashback Friday: Travis Snider’s First Game

Where were you on August 29th, 2008? If you were a hapless Blue Jays devotee, your posterior was likely parked on your favourite sitting aparatus with cold beverage in hand to watch the future of the franchise unfold before your very eyes.

For this week’s Acid Flashback Friday we take a look back at Travis Snider’s very first big league game.

The circumstances surrounding Travis Snider’s callup on August 29th, 2008 was fueled by a trade made a few days prior. It was none other than Matt Stairs being trade to the Philadelphia Phillies that opened up the roster spot.

Out of all the places to make his big league debut, there could not have been a grander stage for Travis Snider to display his skills: the bright lights at Yankee Stadium.

Cito Gaston parked Snider out in left field and it didn’t take long for him to make his presence felt. As shown to the left, Snider flashed the leather and made an incredible leaping play next to the wall. Even the folks in the stands at Yankee Stadium couldn’t help but watch in amazement.

Then Travis Snider contributed with his bat: in the top of the sixth he swatted a ball off Carl Pavano to deep left-centre field for a ground rule double. Snider would eventually score and that would be the only run the Jays scored in a 2-1 loss to the Yankees.

When I think back to that game, it seems like so long ago … when it actuality, it really wasn’t. Although Travis Snider has spent time with the Jays these past three years, he’s only actually played 134 games in the majors.

Just as Travis Snider makes his long awaited return to the Blue Jays tonight, it reminds me of how excited folks were to see the Great Big Giant Pasty White Hope for the first time back on August 29th, 2008 at Yankee Stadium.