In his senior year he was developing into a better hitter, batting .362 at the plate. He was then drafted by the New York Mets in the 38th round of the 1967 draft.
He made it to Mets Spring Training in 1968 still listed as a pitcher but then injured his collarbone. When he returned he & farm director Whitey Herzog agreed he should convert to an outfielder.
After serving in the military, Schneck returned to the Mets system with an invitation to Spring Training in 1971.
He was sent to the A ball Visalia Mets of the California League, a hitter’s paradise where the Mets had six of the League’s top ten HR hitters. Schneck hit 26 HRs there getting promoted to AA Memphis where he hit another 8 HRs but only batted .200 in 57 games.
By 1972 he had earned the reputation as a good power hitter, hitting another 24 HRs that season (two behind league leader Gorman Thomas) while batting .304.

In the 6th inning of that game, he hit a his first career HR, a two run shot off pitcher; Steve Arlin, that ended up being the game winning run in the 3-2 win. The next day he made a great game saving catch on a late inning Jerry Morales fly ball preserving the Mets 2-1 win for Gary Gentry.
The day after that he went 3-4 with his second HR and a double, driving in his third run in his first three games. He hit safely in his first six games and thirteen of his first sixteen games.
He got a cup of coffee late in the year during the Mets pennant run, batting .194 (7-36). He played in the first game of the final series at Wrigley Field, with the Mets playing to win the NL East title. Schneck got one hit going 1-4 but was not eligible for post season play. He did get to throw batting practice for the team during the 1973 World Series.
Schneck had multiple hit games in his first four games of the season, including a big 4 -5 day in the first game of an April 11th double header. He had two multiple HR games where he drove in four runs each time that month. Both big games came on the road that month, at Montreal & in San Francisco.

On July 5th he singled twice driving in two of the Mets three runs helping Jerry Kooman to a 3-2 complete game victory over the San Francisco Giants. Later that week his 4th inning sac fly ended up being the game winning run in a 2-1 victory against the San Diego Padres.
In the 25 inning epic vs. the St Louis Cardinals he tied a record with 11 at-bats in the game. In that game he got two doubles.
On the 1974 season, he appeared in 92 games, batting .205 with 5 HRs 11 doubles 4 stolen bases & 25 RBIs. In the outfield he had five assists & posted a .974 fielding percentage.

Schneck played poorly in the minors in 1975, batting just .217 with six HRs at AAA Toledo. He then went to the Cincinnati Reds organization showing good power over the next two seasons hitting 33 homers at the AA level.
Schneck would never make it back up to the majors, finishing a brief three season career with a .199 average 82 hits 8 HRs 14 doubles 4 triples 35 RBIs & a .251 on base % in 143 career games.
As an outfielder he posted a .979 fielding % with eight assists.

2 comments:
Where did you learn all this information about Schneck... The Vietnam battle? The waterproofing company?
Schneck was a beast! He can hit the heck out of a golf ball too....
He drove the green on #4 at Woodstone
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