Ian Snell

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**Ian Snell**
Major League Baseball debut
Pittsburgh Pirates — No. 45
Pitcher
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
August 20, 2004 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Selected MLB statistics (through 2006)
Win-loss	15-13
Strikeouts	209
ERA	4.90
Innings pitched	235.0

Ian Dante Snell (born October 30, 1981 in Dover, Delaware) is a pitcher in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He throws and bats right-handed. From 2001-2003, he went by the name Ian Oquendo, but has since reverted to his birth name. He throws a low-mid 90's fastball, along with a curveball and a changeup.

Ian Snell is a 2000 graduate of Caesar Rodney High School in Camden, Delaware. There he was a three-sport athlete, playing football, baseball and basketball. He attended the same high school as fellow pitcher and former Pirates teammate Dave Williams, who was a 1997 graduate. Snell made his professional debut with the GCL Pirates in 2000, after being selected by the Pirates in the 26th round of the June amateur draft. He made his debut on July 17, pitching 1.2 innings of scoreless relief against the GCL Expos. In 2001, Snell split the season between the GCL Pirates and the single-A Williamsport Crosscutters. Snell played his 2002 season with the South Atlantic League Champion Hickory, a Single-A club. There he ranked fourth among league pitchers in strikeouts and seventh in ERA.

In 2003, when Snell went 14-4 with a 3.00 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 26 minor league starts, split between Single-A Lynchburg and AA Altoona, he was named the Pirates organizational Pitcher-of-the-Year. Snell spent the majority of his 2004 season with Altoona. He set a single-season Curve record and finished second in the league with 142 strikeouts. 2004 also saw the start of Snell's major league career. He was called up to the Pirates, making his major-league debut on August 20 against St. Louis, surrendering one hit (a solo home run to John Mabry), three walks and two strikeouts in 2.0 innings of work. He was sent back down to Altoona before being called up a second time on September 21, after Altoona's season ended.

In 2005, Snell split the season between the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, going 11-3 with a 3.70 ERA, and the Pirates. While with the Indians, he pitched a no-hitter on May 15 against the Norfolk Tides. He was named the International League pitcher of the week twice, for the weeks ending May 1 and May 15. He had two stints with the Pirates, from June 26-August 16 and again from September 12 to the end of the season. With the Pirates, he appeared in 15 games, including 5 starts. His first win came September 19, against the Houston Astros. His 2005 record with the Pirates was 1-2 with a 5.14 ERA over 42 innings.

On January 28, 2007, the Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association honored Snell as the "John J. Brady Athlete of the Year", an award given annually to the best athlete from Delaware.^[1]

[edit] Controversy

In October, 2006, Snell was interviewed for ESPN Radio 1250 by reporter Ken Laird. He was asked about his off-season plans, and would he be staying in Pittsburgh during that time. In response, Snell said "I would never be caught living in Pittsburgh. It's not my type of city." [1].

Unsurprisingly, Pittsburghers were insulted and voted Snell "Jagoff of the Week" on the Junker and Crow Show, a Pittsburgh sports talk radio program.