BASEBALL NOTEBOOK : CSUN Lands Snyder's Brother

BASEBALL NOTEBOOK : CSUN Lands Snyder’s Brother

By STEVE ELLING

July 10, 1987 12 AM PT

<i> Times Staff Writer</i>

If the name rings a bell, it should. Change one little letter, one measly vowel and, as Yogi Berra said, “It’s like deja vu all over again.”

Cary Snyder, the younger brother of Cleveland Indians outfielder Cory Snyder, has signed a letter of intent to play for Cal State Northridge next season.

CSUN Coach Terry Craven hopes the Snyder lineage shows up in the line score. While the name is not quite the same and they play different positions, Craven thinks he might still be on to something.

“He’s been successful at each of the places he’s been,” Craven said. “A guy with his talent could easily be one of our starters next year.”

Snyder, a right-handed pitcher who like his brother attended Canyon High, is a transfer from Brigham Young and Mt. San Jacinto College.

Snyder is among six junior college transfers secured thus far by CSUN. Geoff Curtis (6-0, 175), a left-handed pitcher from Taft College, also is a likely candidate for next season’s lineup.

“He pitched against us once last year and looked pretty good,” Craven said. “I wrote his name down, kept in touch with him, and now he’s here.”

Other players committing to CSUN include Andy Betts (6-2, 185), a right-hander from Allan Hancock College; Anton Siegel (6-4, 200), a first baseman from Sacramento City College; Chris Zavatsky, a right-hander from College of the Canyons; and Joe Palubeski (6-2, 180), a first baseman from College of the Canyons.

Scott Strickland (5-10, 150), the shortstop on Canoga Park’s 4-A City Section championship team, and Ted Weisfuss (5-10, 150), a shortstop from Canyon have been picked up from the high school ranks.

“I think next year’s team will be very strong defensively,” Craven said. “Offensively, we’ve got a roster full of guys who have done well where they’ve played. Whether they play well at the higher level, well, we’ll see.”

On the other hand: Pitcher Pablo Suarez has left CSUN and will play for College of the Canyons next season. The sophomore right-hander was 3-0 with a 4.18 earned-run average in eight appearances for the Matadors last season.

In the Angels’ camp: As though the Valley Dodgers didn’t have enough troubles worrying about the teams contending for the Golden State League title, there is another team the Dodgers probably will be keeping an eye on.

The California Angels’ minor league team in Salem, Ore., now has picked off two Dodgers.

Left-hander Steve Dunn, who was the Southern Section 1-A player of the year at Chaminade High in 1984 and who played last season at Chapman College, was signed last week. Dunn was 3-2 with the Dodgers. He joins outfielder Paul List, a North Hollywood High graduate and most valuable player in the 1984 Bernie Milligan Game. List formerly played at the University of Hawaii.

The Dodgers, 15-5-1 overall and 9-3 in league play, face San Bernardino in a four-game series this weekend. The Indians, who won the state National Baseball Congress title last weekend, play host to the Dodgers in a noon doubleheader Saturday at UC Riverside. The teams meet again Sunday in a noon doubleheader at Cal State Northridge.

“We’re down to our last seven games,” said Dave Desmond, the Dodgers general manager. “They’re all important from here on out.”

The Dodgers could qualify for the NBC World Series in Wichita, Kan., later this month by winning the Golden State League. They hold a slim lead over the San Diego Stars, who are 6-2. The Westside Waves are in third with a 7-5 record.

The Dodgers play a nonleague game against the San Gabriel White Sox on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at CSUN.

Diamond decision: After conducting interviews with nine applicants, Principal William White said Canyon High will announce a baseball coach to replace Wally Hammond sometime next week.

“We were up until about midnight Wednesday interviewing people and discussing the options,” White said. “Believe me, I want to get this finished by next week.”

Among the applicants is Crespi Coach Scott Muckey, a former assistant at Pepperdine who led the Celts into the Southern Section playoffs in his first year at the school.

New kid in town: Richard McKeon, the junior varsity coach at Hamilton High, has been named to replace Art Martinez as the varsity coach at Taft High.

McKeon, 30, coached the team at Hamilton for two years after moving to California from Connecticut.