Striding into a coffee shop on a chilly December afternoon, Clay Snellgrove looks as if he could still make training camp. He moves with soft measured steps. The discipline of an athlete shows on his face. The drive an athlete possesses shows in his eyes when he speaks about his past or what he hopes to accomplish in the future.
Clay has spent several days lately at the Winter Meetings in Nashville as a free agent of sorts. Not to find placement on a roster for the upcoming season, but he is looking for endorsement of another kind. With a professional baseball career behind him, he was in Nashville to promote his novel, simply titled, “The Ball Player.”
Born 33 years ago in Atlanta, Clay also spent time in Kentucky and Indiana before landing a baseball scholarship to MTSU, where he become the school’s all-time hits leader?a distinction he also held for the Ohio Valley Conference.
His dreams of becoming a professional ball player were realized when he was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 24th round of the 1997 MLB draft. He spent six seasons playing minor league baseball, earning three All-Star selections. Eventually, when faced with a back injury, Clay released pro ball.
“Other things had become more important and the realistic possibilities of making a living were gone,” he said.
A chance to return to Murfreesboro came up when ex-MTSU teammate Jon Case approached Clay about becoming involved with a baseball school.
Determined people seldom have one passion. “The Ball Player” is not Clay’s first piece of written work. He has written for newspapers and had other short stories published.
Although, the book is about baseball, it is not autobiographical. However, the material does stem from real life events and situations. At times, he portrays the game with a hard dose of reality that makes a reader wonder why anyone would want to try for that kind of life. Throughout the novel you will question your relationships and perhaps remember little pieces of your own past dreams. He threw a curve in the way he wrote?that I challenge any reader to find. Some may notice right away others may never realize what they did not read.
Clay still misses baseball. But today he has other passions: his wife, Erin, and the baby they will soon welcome. You can still find Clay giving baseball and softball lessons at Batters Up.
I asked Clay what was the defining moment for him that made him a ball player. His response was, “My first pro homerun with a wooden bat in the Padres organization facing a pro pitcher. The next time up the pitcher hit me?I took it as a sign of respect.”
Perhaps his defining moments are yet to come as he fine tunes new crops of ball players with his coaching and stories.
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