Braves manager Brian Snitker hoists 2021 World Series trophy after a surprise win over the favored Houston Astros. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
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Although a time-tested baseball adage states that a manager is hired to be fired, the Atlanta Braves don’t subscribe to the theory.
Brian Snitker, an organization man who rose from minor-league catcher to world championship manager, was only the fourth pilot the team has had since 1990.
In the wake of a disappointing season, he yielded his dugout duties Wednesday, agreeing instead to serve in an advisory role to president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos.
Catching to Coaching
Snitker, who went from catching to coaching in 1977 after farm director Hank Aaron offered him a minor-league spot, leaves behind a legacy that included six straight National League East titles, two wild-card appearances, and a surprise World Series win in 2021 – even though superstar slugger Ronald Acuna, Jr. missed the second half of that season with a torn ACL.
Snitker’s contract expired at the end of the 2025 campaign but the Braves let him make his own decision about keeping his job. He admitted that he agonized for weeks about the choice.
At 69, Snitker was the oldest manager in the NL but was beloved by players young enough to be his grandchildren.
He knew many of them – including Acuna and Ozzie Albies — from their days together in the club’s minor-league system.
Albies was among a group of players who came to Truist Park for the official announcement.
Tearful Brian Snitker (right) announces his retirement as manager of the Atlanta Braves as chief of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos cheers him up. (Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)
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“Guys, I appreciate you being here,” an emotional Snitker told a group that also included Drake Baldwin, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo Lopez, Austin Riley, Michael Harris II, and Joe Jimenez.
“Three years ago, I signed an extension. And when I signed it, this was to be my last year, and I was kind of excited about it because I thought, well, it’s going to put a reality to it. And I was really good with it.”
Stoic Exterior
During his tenure as manager, Snitker was known for his stoic countenance, never getting too high or too low whenever the television cameras were on him. Like Cox, he relied on running out the same regulars every day, often in the same batting order.
When injuries decimated his roster in 2025, however, he had to work in such inexperienced players as Nacho Alvarez, Jr. and Didier Fuentes. With his original starting rotation sidelined by injuries, Snitker tried an endless succession of minor-league pitchers, achieving a degree of success only with Hurston Waldrep in 2025. The Braves even brought back former Rookie of the Year Craig Kimbrel for a one-inning audition, along with such retreads as Carlos Carrasco and Erick Fedde.
Though slowed by ACL tears that needed surgical repair in 2021 and 2024, Ronald Acuna Jr. was a perennial All-Star under Brian Snitker. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
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The team had a surprising 10-game winning streak in September but still stumbled to the finish line, finishing fourth in the five-team division with a 76-86 record, 20 games out of first place.
“Brian leaves behind a legacy of character,” said Braves chairman of the board Terry McGuirk at the gathering. “He was one of the finest people ever to wear a Braves uniform.”
He and his wife Ronnie, who was there, will now take an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii – a gift from the team along with a new pick-up truck.
Multiple Assignments
Snitker takes off his uniform after managing at every minor-league level and serving as third-base coach and bullpen coach. He served under both Bobby Cox, who managed the Braves for 24 years in two separate stints, and Fredi Gonzalez, who succeeded Cox in 2011 but recently returned as third-base coach for Snitker.
The Braves have already announced that Snitker will be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame sometime next season, which will be his 50th with the club. He spent 10 years as major-league manager, starting with his appointment as interim manager since May 2016.
That was the year the team could have been called The Bad-News Braves, starting with a 9-28 record in 2016 before rebounding to 59-65 under Snitker. Two years later, they won 90 games and Snitker won the National League’s Manager of the Year Award.
His teams finished with 811 wins, second only to Cox (2,149) among Atlanta Braves manager.
Possible Successors
Anthopoulos, 20 years younger than Snitker, will consider current coaches Walt Weiss and Eddie Perez as potential successors, along with former third-base coach Ron Washington and recently-fired managers Bob Melvin, Rocco Baldelli, and Bruce Bochy. Weiss, who once managed the Colorado Rockies, served as Snitker’s bench coach since 2018.
Because they are even older than Snitker, Bochy and Washington are not consider front-runners. But the bi-lingual Gonzalez, a native of Havana who returned to the team in mid-season, could be considered for the top job again.
Also reported to be under scrutiny are David Ross, a one-time Braves catcher who later managed the Cubs, and former Atlanta infielder Mark DeRosa, a MLB Network broadcaster who will manage Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.
At least eight teams are in the market for new managers. They are the Angels, Orioles, Twins, and Rangers in the American League and the Braves, Giants, Nationals, and Rockies in the National. It’s also possible that there could be changes made by playoff participants, especially since the contract of Red Sox pilot Alex Cora is expiring.
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