The Atlanta Braves head coach, Brian Gerald Snitke, recently announced that he will soon be resigning because of…
In 2016, Brian Snitker—who has worked for the Atlanta Braves for more than 40 years—was elevated to MLB manager of a team that was rebuilding. Given my familiarity with the franchise’s workings, Snitker’s quick success was not shocking.
Early in the 2016 season, Snitker was named to the Braves. Throughout his 124 games with the franchise, Atlanta went 59-65, exceeding their expectations. The Braves went 72-90 the next season in 2017, which was another positive move. Snit has guided the Atlanta Braves to six consecutive National League East Division Championships from 2018 until the present.
At 64 years old, Snitker won his first World Series championship in 2021. As the 2023 season draws to a close, David O’Brien reports that Alex Anthopoluos believes Brian Snitker will be heading the Atlanta team by 2024.
While this may surprise some, it should go without saying for the majority of people. Snitker is a guy who played baseball “old school” as a child. In that strategy, players are expected to run out ground balls with their heads down, remain emotionless even in pivotal situations, and ignore analytics.
Snitker, who is 67 years old, has witnessed the shift in the game. He has freely acknowledged that he has to get used to this. Brian Snitker has led the Braves, who are packed of young talent, to a lot of success. He has done a tremendous job adapting to the modern era of Major League Baseball.
In January of this year, Brian Snitker agreed to a contract extension with the Atlanta Braves that would keep him with the team through the 2025 campaign. Snitker is being blamed by some for the Braves’ early postseason elimination after a 104-win regular season. For the future, Alex Anthopoulos is placing his trust in Snitker because he does not see things that way.
Given that Snitker is approaching 70 years old, the time to consider retirement is drawing near. He obviously loves baseball, and the Atlanta Braves in particular, or he wouldn’t have devoted more than 40 years of his life to the team. He will eventually feel, though, that he has fulfilled his mission. It seems that after 2023, that won’t be the case.