Virginia native Snyder gets to enjoy his moment vs. Astros

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Brandon Snyder would be the first to admit this was nothing like what the rest of the Nationals experienced the last time they faced the Astros, when the stakes were just a bit higher.

While his teammates were hoisting the Commissioner's Trophy in Houston on Oct. 30, Snyder was watching on television with a buddy at his home in Warrenton, Va. He was a member of the organization and knew all the guys who had just won the World Series, but he spent the season playing at Triple-A Fresno and could only watch the postseason from afar.

Back with the Nationals for another spring as a non-roster invitee to big league camp, the 33-year-old journeyman found himself at the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth Sunday afternoon, the winning run standing on second base in the form of catching prospect Jakson Reetz, a new reliever (right-hander Ronel Blanco) entering from the bullpen after Astros manager Dusty Baker decided to remove lefty Ryan Hartman.

"I love it," Snyder said of the situational pitching change. "I love it, because obviously I want to face a lefty. That's kind of like my purpose. At the same time, it shows a little respect. They want to put a righty in to face me, and it adds a little more to the pot saying: 'Hey, all right, let's go get this righty and try to put a good at-bat together."

Which is precisely what Snyder did. He ripped a sharp grounder up the middle and past the lunging shortstop, then watched as Reetz raced home with the winning run and several teammates burst out of the dugout to congratulate him for his walk-off single in a 2-1 victory.

No, it did not count for anything. Certainly not for anything like the World Series title that was at stake between these same clubs four months ago. That mattered not to Snyder.

"We're trying to prepare and get ready, and though the games don't mean as much, it's still a game," he said. "We're all competitive. It's always nice to end it, especially in regulation. That's always awesome. To be able to just have that opportunity to be in that situation is always good."

Snyder would love to find himself in that situation in a regular season game - or better yet, a postseason game - for the Nationals. Alas that never happened in 2017, when he spent the entire year at Triple-A Syracuse. And it never happened in 2019, when he spent the entire year at Fresno.

Never mind that Snyder launched 31 homers in 458 plate appearances for the Grizzlies. His services were never requested by the big league club, not even when rosters expanded in September.

"It's always tough, but at the same time, I understand," he said. "I've been around a long time. Would I have loved to have been in D.C. to be experiencing that? You better believe it. There's no doubt about it. But with the roll that they were on, and the atmosphere of the clubhouse and the energy that they were carrying, I understand. You don't want to start kind of going elsewhere. You want to kind of stick with your guys, and I understand that."

Snyder has gotten used to this over a 15-year professional career that hasn't turned out like he would've hoped. Selected with the 13th overall pick by the Orioles in the 2005 draft - nine spots behind Ryan Zimmerman - out of Westfield High School, the Centreville native reached the majors in 2010 but never stuck.

He has appeared in 122 big league games overall across six different seasons with five different franchises. He's now in his third season in the Nationals organization, still seeking his first call-up.

If it ever happens, this one would mean more than any of the previous ones. Growing up in Northern Virginia, the idea of playing for a Washington-based major league club would've sounded ludicrous. Then the Expos relocated to D.C., and suddenly it became possible.

It hasn't happened yet, but that hasn't discouraged Snyder from re-signing with the Nationals in 2019 and now again in 2020, even if he knows he's almost guaranteed to wind up in Fresno again.

"I'm really happy to be back," he said. "I love what they're doing here. I love the organization. I love the guys. Obviously getting a chance to play in D.C. is something that means a lot to me, because being close to home would be absolutely amazing. But at this point, I'm just so happy to be here and relaxed and having a good time and trying to get some knocks when I can."

Even though he wasn't part of the Nationals' big league roster, Snyder felt a real connection to them last October. He found himself on the edge of his seat watching Game 7 of the World Series on TV, both because he was a member of the organization but perhaps even more because he was watching his hometown team win its long-awaited first championship.

"I think it was more because of being in D.C.," he said. "I was super happy that they won, because everybody was in a good mood, all my friends. Obviously, as a player, you kind of get a little bit disconnected with baseball, per se, when you're not playing. But at the same time, seeing the guys, I'm still part of the team. I'm still part of these guys. I'm friends with all of them. To see them succeed and see them have that year was amazing. Obviously, being close to D.C. and seeing all my friends and family so excited about it, it was awesome. I wouldn't want to see it the other way, I can tell you that."