Brian Snitker is getting into his tenth season because the Braves’ supervisor, and his forty ninth season total as a member of Atlanta’s group. The skipper additionally turns 70 years previous in October, and his most up-to-date contract extension with the Braves (signed again in January 2023) was only a one-year pact that coated the 2025 marketing campaign.
With all this in thoughts, Snitker appears to be a minimum of contemplating ending his managerial profession as soon as this season is over. He lately informed the New York Publish’s Jon Heyman that “I’ll let the 12 months get underway and see what occurs,” and informed USA At this time’s Bob Nightengale that final 12 months, Snitker did view 2025 as his final season, although he now isn’t able to make a closing name.
“I nonetheless really feel actually good, and the 50-number [50 years with the Braves] is one thing I believe it’d be form of cool. However proper now, I’m leaning in direction of getting by means of at this time,” Snitker informed Nightengale.
It speaks to Snitker’s baseball-lifer standing that stepping away from the supervisor’s chair wouldn’t imply he’s retiring fully, as “hopefully, I’ll simply keep round right here and be a type of advisor guys. I’ll go to the minor-league parks, come to Spring Coaching a bit bit and spend a variety of time watching my grandkids.” So technically, such an advisory position may stretch Snitker’s Atlanta tenure into one more decade, even when he can be free from the day-to-day grind of managing.
Bobby Cox and Frank Selee are the one managers in franchise historical past with extra wins than Snitker, who’s 735-585 over his nine-plus seasons. That resume contains seven consecutive successful seasons, and a streak of six straight NL East titles that ended solely with final season’s second-place end. Snitker’s run of success was highlighted by the Braves’ triumph within the 2021 World Sequence, as Atlanta overcame dropping Ronald Acuna Jr. to a torn ACL that season and launched one thing of a Cinderella run to the championship.
Snitker’s minor league taking part in profession consisted of 4 seasons within the Atlanta farm system, and he then instantly pivoted right into a roving teacher place in 1980. This was the stepping stone to changing into a minor league supervisor in 1982, with Snitker appearing because the skipper for a number of groups at a number of rungs of the organizational ladder over the subsequent three-plus a long time. These minor league managerial assignments got here in between three totally different stints on the Braves’ huge league teaching workers — Snitker was the bullpen coach in 1985 after which once more from 1988-90, and he acted because the third base coach from 2007-13.
Snitker was the supervisor at Triple-A Gwinnett when he was named the Braves’ interim supervisor in Might 2016, after Fredi Gonzalez was fired. Although Snitker was solely 59-65 over the rest of that season, it was sufficient to earn him the full-time job, and Snitker then went 72-90 through the 2017 marketing campaign. As Nightengale notes, Snitker’s job safety was on shaky floor earlier than a fair larger shake-up occurred inside the group, as GM John Coppolella resigned as a consequence of a league investigation into allegations that the Braves violated worldwide signing guidelines. Alex Anthopoulos was rapidly introduced on as the brand new normal supervisor, and saved Snitker as supervisor partially to take care of some stability inside an uncommon scenario for the crew.
“I didn’t know something about Brian Snitker however his title once I received right here,’’ Anthopoulos informed Nightengale. “I didn’t know who he was. I actually had no attachment, no historical past in any respect. Now, I’ve the very best degree of belief from a private standpoint, an expert standpoint, which is critically vital. I’ve a lot belief in him in every thing we do.”
It could seem that Anthopoulos can be more than pleased to maintain Snitker within the job past 2025, and if Snitker does resolve to return, one other one-year extension may very well be labored out in fairly fast trend. All of Snitker’s contracts as supervisor have been short-term offers of not than two assured years, maybe as a nod to Snitker’s age although his groups saved delivering on the sphere.
Snitker’s future will probably be a serious operating subplot of what’s anticipated to be one other 12 months of excessive expectations in Atlanta. As a lot as flags fly eternally, the Braves haven’t gained a playoff sequence within the three years since that 2021 ring, and now face heavy competitors simply within the NL East, not to mention the Nationwide League as a complete. Nonetheless, the Braves overcame a variety of main accidents to nonetheless a minimum of attain the postseason final 12 months, and a more healthy roster may assist Snitker probably exit on a excessive word if he does resolve to finish his managerial profession.
