Todd Snider: The Outlaw Storyteller Who Gave Dock Ellis His Greatest Encore

An American Troubadour with a Gift for Storytelling

Todd Snider was one of America’s most original and beloved singer-songwriters, a wandering troubadour whose wit, rebellious spirit, and remarkable storytelling earned him a devoted following across the Americana world.

Born in Portland, Oregon, in 1966, Snider built his career on songs filled with humor, heart, and hard-earned truth. Influenced by writers like John Prine, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Kris Kristofferson, he developed a voice that was unmistakably his own — loose, sharp, funny, and deeply human.

Over the years, Snider became known for writing about outsiders, underdogs, and unforgettable characters. Albums such as Songs for the Daily Planet, East Nashville Skyline, and The Excitement Plan showcased his rare ability to blend clever observation with emotional depth. Fans loved him not just for his songs, but for the stories between the songs — stories that often felt as memorable as the music itself.

Todd Snider passed away in 2025, leaving behind a body of work that continues to resonate with listeners who value honesty, humor, and songs that say something real.

Baseball, Dock Ellis & Hall of Fame Recognition

For baseball fans, Todd Snider holds a special place in the soundtrack of the game thanks to “America’s Favorite Pastime,” his brilliant song about the legendary and improbable tale of Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis.

On June 12, 1970, Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. Years later, Ellis revealed that he had done it while under the influence of LSD — one of the wildest and most unforgettable stories in baseball history. For most writers, it would have been too strange to touch. For Todd Snider, it was exactly the kind of story worth telling.

Released on The Excitement Plan, “America’s Favorite Pastime” captures the absurdity, humor, and wonder of Ellis’s feat with the same offbeat brilliance that defined so much of Snider’s work. Rather than simply retelling the story, Snider turns it into something larger — a celebration of baseball’s colorful mythology and the kinds of characters the game never forgets.

The song holds the #05 position on Baseball DJ’s Top 10 Greatest Baseball Songs of All Time, and it stands as one of the most inventive baseball songs ever written.

For his extraordinary gift as a storyteller and for immortalizing one of baseball’s most unlikely heroes, Todd Snider is proudly inducted into the Baseball DJ Music Hall of Fame, Class of 2026.

His songs always found beauty in the misfits, humor in the messiness, and truth in the tall tales. That spirit made him a natural fit for baseball — and a deserving Hall of Fame honoree.

“Todd Snider had a gift for turning America’s strangest and most human stories into songs — and few stories fit him better than Dock Ellis and ‘America’s Favorite Pastime.’”