Associated Press

Toronto Blue Jays rookie Travis Snider, a former Pulaski Blue Jay, is batting .236 this season with nine home runs and 27 RBIs.

BOSTON -- Three years ago, Travis Snider made his pro baseball debut with the Pulaski Blue Jays.

Now he's a big-league rookie, playing for the Toronto Blue Jays. The outfielder who once patrolled Calfee Park now gets to play in places such as Fenway Park.

"The other day I was listening to the 'OK Blue Jays Let's Play Ball' song in Toronto, and it kind of hit me for the first time. I said, 'Gosh, three years ago I was in Pulaski, Va., a small, desolate town out there in the Appalachian Mountains, playing baseball and being a kid and having a good time,' -- thinking how far I have come in the last few years," Snider said Wednesday in the visitors' locker room after a win over Boston.

The left fielder is batting .236 with nine homers and 27 RBIs in 75 games with Toronto this year, including 67 starts.

"You have your moments where you're going good, and I've had my moments where I've struck out four times," said Snider, 21. "This game is very humbling and there's a lot of ups and downs."

The Mills Creek, Wash., native was drafted out of high school as the 14th overall pick in 2006. He was assigned by Toronto to its rookie-league team in Pulaski -- which is now affiliated with the Seattle Mariners -- and wound up being named the Appalachian League most valuable player that year.

"The fans were great to me," he said. "It was a great experience, being away from home that far away and being in a small town."

He made his big-league debut in late August of last year, and hit .301 in 24 games with Toronto.

This is considered his rookie year, though.

Snider began this season as Toronto's starting left fielder and hit .258 in April. But he hit only .216 in May before being sent down to Triple-A Las Vegas on May 22. He was recalled in mid-August and rejoined the starting lineup. He has hit .267 over the last 30 days.

"I've definitely dealt with the good and the bad this season but learned a lot about the game and what it takes to play at this level," he said.

He recently got to play against Ken Griffey Jr. when Seattle visited Toronto.

"That was special," he said. "I watched him growing up as a kid. ... Seeing him back in the Mariners uniform, wearing No. 24, was kind of a surreal moment for me, knowing a lot of jealous friends and family back home. It's what you work for your whole life."