masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgFormer Oriole Brandon Snyder, now with Texas after being sold to that club by the Orioles in a cash transaction in January, had a good view of Josh Hamilton’s historic four-homer game here on Tuesday night.

“It was awesome,” Snyder said. “I got to the see the first two from the dugout and actually the last two from the bullpen. We were sitting there saying ‘wouldn’t it be cool if he hit three.’ Then he hit four. It was unbelievable.

“He’s one of the best players in this game for a…Former Oriole Brandon Snyder, now with Texas after being sold to that club by the Orioles in a cash transaction in January, had a good view of Josh Hamilton’s historic four-homer game here on Tuesday night.

“It was awesome,” Snyder said. “I got to the see the first two from the dugout and actually the last two from the bullpen. We were sitting there saying ‘wouldn’t it be cool if he hit three.’ Then he hit four. It was unbelievable.

“He’s one of the best players in this game for a reason. He goes out there every night and shows us something. Last night was just extra special.”

The Orioles’ first-round pick in the 2005 draft, Snyder homered and drove in six runs against his former team on Monday night. He is batting .421 off the Rangers bench in 19 at-bats.

He said Hamilton is very respected in the Texas clubhouse and has been personally helpful to him this year.

“He’s a great guy and great human being way before he’s a great baseball player,” Snyder said. “That is one of the best qualities about him. Very genuine, very friendly, very caring about everyone in the clubhouse. A great guy to be around.

“He’s always been there for me. A great guy to talk to. When I have played the outfield and he’s in center, he always calms me down and jokes around. It’s nice to have that.”

Chris Davis was with Texas for parts of the 2008 through 2011 seasons and was a Hamilton teammate. He said he could appreciate the amazing performance everyone got to see last night.

“That was something,” Davis said. “You don’t want to be on the other end of that but you take a minute to step back and realize how special that was. It’s not like we were just rolling the ball up there. He was hitting pitches out to dead center and left center with authority.

“I think everyone always says ‘what might have been (for him) if he hadn’t gone down that road (with drug problems).’ I think we are catching a glimpse of just how talented he really is. He can basically just unleash the fury, is how I think of it. Hopefully we can contain him tonight and put some runs up on them early and come away with a win.

“He has ridiculous pop. If he stays healthy he’s going to be one of the best hitters in the game and everyone saw that last night.”

Of course Davis got this question today: Would you have liked to pitch to Hamilton last night?

“Absolutely not,” he said. “Hopefully this will die down after a while but I heard some people yell ‘put Davis in.’ It’s all in good fun. Obviously, I wouldn’t have fared any better. That guy is just locked in right now.

“I looked at his stats before the series and they were PlayStation numbers and they’ve just gotten better since I’ve been here. I’m happy for him but I wouldn’t mind seeing him go o-fer tonight and us get the W.”