Duncan Snider signs with Padres affiliate, wins championship
by Margaret Hurlbert
September 21, 2022

MUSCATINE, Iowa–A lifelong baseball player, Muscatine native Duncan Snider started living his dream of playing professional baseball in 2021. After graduating from Upper Iowa University, Snider played first for the Tucson Saguaros and later for the Houston Apollos. Snider enjoyed his first season on the independent professional baseball scene and chose to return this spring. His talent has not gone unnoticed, and this June, Snider scored a spot on the San Diego Padere’s single A affiliate, the Lake Elsinore Storm, and helped them win the California League Championship, their equivalent of the World Series.

After winning the Pecos League Championship with the Saguaros and having a successful season with the Apollos, Snider looked forward to his return to independent professional baseball this spring. He started out the year with the Lake County Dockhounds, a team belonging to the American Association of Professional Baseball located in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

Snider’s season got off to a strong start. After playing in the bullpen for a short time, Snider moved up to starting. In his final game with the Dockhounds, he struck out 16 batters in eight innings, breaking a record for the number of consecutive strikes thrown (nine) and tying a record for the most strikes thrown. “My last game in independent ball was probably the best I’ve ever thrown,” Snider shared.

Shortly after his outstanding game, the San Diego Padres affiliate the Lake Elsinore Storm signed Snider, and he headed out to California to continue his baseball career. “My teammate knew someone with the Padres organization and he put in a good word for me and I signed with them shortly after that,” Snider explained.

Joining the Storm for the second half of their season, Snider has continued to have success. He has pitched in 11 games and started for several of them, winning six and loosing only one during the regular season. Part of a highly successful team, Snider helped the Storm win the South Division Championship and progress to the California League Championship.

For the first time since 2011, the Storm won the championship, their fourth of all time. Snider proved instrumental to this success. Snider pitched just over seven innings of playoff ball, giving up only one earned run and striking out 10 batters. In the final game of the championship series, Duncan maintained the Storm’s lead, even though the entered the last two innings with only a one run lead.

Pleased by the opportunities that have come his way, Snider plans on continuing his career in professional baseball. With a seven year contract to his name, he anticipates many good years of ball ahead of him. “As long as they want me, I’ll be around,” he said. “It feels good–its like every little kid’s dream to be part of a major league organization.”

To all of the younger fans following his career at home, Snider encourages them to not give up on their dreams, as the path to success does not always look the way they might expect it to. “The way I got here was pretty unorthodox,” he reflected: “Just because you’re not drafted doesn’t mean it’s over for a lot of guys. There’s still a lot of opportunity left.”

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