Brian Snitker is coming into his tenth season because the Braves’ supervisor, and his forty ninth season general as a member of Atlanta’s group. The skipper additionally turns 70 years outdated in October, and his most up-to-date contract extension with the Braves (signed again in January 2023) was only a one-year pact that coated the 2025 marketing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 at the very least contemplating ending his managerial profession as soon as this season is over. He not too long ago informed the New York Publish’s Jon Heyman that “I’ll let the yr get underway and see what occurs,” and informed USA Right this moment’s Bob Nightengale that final yr, 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 feel it’d be form of cool. However proper now, I’m leaning in the direction of getting by means of right this moment,” 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 kind of advisor guys. I’ll go to the minor-league parks, come to Spring Coaching a bit of bit and spend loads of time watching my grandkids.” So technically, such an advisory position might stretch Snitker’s Atlanta tenure into yet 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 shedding Ronald Acuna Jr. to a torn ACL that season and launched one thing of a Cinderella run to the championship.
Snitker’s minor league enjoying 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 many years. These minor league managerial assignments got here in between three totally different stints on the Braves’ large 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 throughout the 2017 marketing campaign. As Nightengale notes, Snitker’s job safety was on shaky floor earlier than a fair greater shake-up occurred throughout the group, as GM John Coppolella resigned on account of a league investigation into allegations that the Braves violated worldwide signing guidelines. Alex Anthopoulos was rapidly introduced on as the brand new basic supervisor, and saved Snitker as supervisor partially to keep up some stability inside an uncommon state of affairs for the group.
“I didn’t know something about Brian Snitker however his title after I acquired right here,’’ Anthopoulos informed Nightengale. “I didn’t know who he was. I actually had no attachment, no historical past in any way. Now, I’ve the best degree of belief from a private standpoint, knowledgeable standpoint, which is critically vital. I’ve a lot belief in him in every thing we do.”
It will seem that Anthopoulos can be very happy 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 regardless that his groups saved delivering on the sphere.
Snitker’s future shall be a significant working subplot of what’s anticipated to be one other yr of excessive expectations in Atlanta. As a lot as flags fly ceaselessly, the Braves haven’t received 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 an entire. Nonetheless, the Braves overcame loads of main accidents to nonetheless at the very least attain the postseason final yr, and a more healthy roster might assist Snitker doubtlessly exit on a excessive be aware if he does resolve to finish his managerial profession.
