Hey there,
Ahead of the 2018 season, a six-person panel for USA TODAY predicted that the Braves would go 76-86 and finish third in the National League East. FiveThirtyEight, the popular political polling platform, projected Atlanta to have a 15% chance of making the postseason and an 8% chance of winning its division.
The Braves went 90-72 and won the division by eight games. As a result, voters from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voted Brian Snitker as the NL Manager of the Year.
The Braves have now won six consecutive division titles and a World Series – all with Snitker at the helm.
This season, though, they have run into trouble. They are in an intense battle for a postseason spot. They have dealt with tons of injuries. Their stars have underperformed. They often have played below the level we’re accustomed to seeing from them.
Let’s put this out there: If Snitker gets these Braves to the postseason, he might have the best case of any NL skipper for Manager of the Year.
In 2018, Snitker led an up-and-coming group that exceeded expectations. But his job in 2024 has been more difficult.
“I think it’s even been tougher because we had a core group of guys that we had developed here that were our everyday guys, and then you use them and now you gotta kind of piece things together,” Snitker said. “And we’ve gotten a lot of guys that started the year with other teams. To their credit, all those guys have done a really nice job and been a big part of keeping us relevant.”
And to Snitker’s credit, he’s kept this group together. He’s led them through the difficult times. Will it end with a postseason berth? We don’t yet know. But Snitker’s poise, consistency and feel have been the glue to a team that has endured a ton.
The Braves have had painful circumstances. No Ronald Acuña Jr. No Spencer Strider. No more A.J. Minter – who also had an injured-list stint earlier in the season. Extended time without Sean Murphy, Michael Harris II, Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies. Two times on the injured list for Reynaldo López. An injured-list stint for Max Fried.
And yet, these Braves are pushing for October. They’re right in the thick of it. They control their destiny, especially given that they host the Mets – their closest competition for that third and final NL wild card spot – for three games in the final homestand.
The one constant: Snitker’s calming veteran presence, which he developed over four-plus decades of managing.
“I just think that, with the amount of injuries that we’ve had, it can be easy to get frustrated and to back down,” Jarred Kelenic said on a recent road trip. “But one thing’s for certain, is that he’s continued to be resilient and do everything he can to put this team in the best position to win each and every night, and I think that is impressive in itself.”
Snitker is always the same – and baseball people will tell you that’s more difficult than it seems.
“I just think it’s something you notice,” Kelenic said. “You know what to expect each and every day, just because it’s who he is and it’s who he chooses to be as a manager. And I think that the consistency side really makes guys respect him that much more, in my opinion.”
If the Mets make the postseason, first-year manager Carlos Mendoza could be a Manager of the Year frontrunner. Pat Murphy, the first-year Brewers manager, should be in the mix for having Milwaukee in position to win its division after losing Craig Counsell to the Cubs. San Diego’s Mike Shildt, in his first season managing the Padres, could also be a candidate if his team makes the playoffs.
All would be deserving.
But Snitker’s team has used its opening day lineup once this season – in the first game. The injuries began mere innings into the year, as Murphy suffered an oblique strain in the opener. Since then, Snitker has had to mix and match the new pieces, all while ensuring his demeanor is positive.
In his eyes, you have to be positive and optimistic.
“Well, you do,” he said. “I mean, that’s how you get through it. It doesn’t do any good if I come in there with a scowl on my face. I think every day is a new day. No matter how bad you’re going, when you go through bad streaks, you never know when that day’s gonna be that you turn it around. So, I think you gotta look at it like that or you drive yourself crazy.”
Baseball is such that managers are either geniuses or idiots in the eyes of most fans – especially in an era when social media is so prevalent. But the truth is, many times it’s as simple as this: If a pitcher makes a pitch, the manager looks great. If not, he looks dumb.
Has Snitker made some questionable decisions? Sure, but what manager hasn’t? There are 162 games, and managers are sometimes operating with knowledge the outside world wouldn’t know.
As poorly as the Braves have played at times this season, and as much as they’ve gone through, they’ve remained relevant in the postseason picture for the entire season. Using an unrecognizable lineup, they’ve stayed competitive and could play in October for the seventh consecutive season.
And if they do, then Snitker would have as strong a case as anyone – and stronger than most – to win NL Manager of the Year.
AP
AP
Extra Innings
*It doesn’t seem like Ozzie Albies’ return is imminent. He’s had trouble swinging from the left side after fracturing his left wrist.
How does he feel when swinging from that left side now?
“Still not great, from what I understand,” Snitker said Wednesday. “The time thing, it is what it is. Those things like that get better when they get better.”
*Travis d’Arnaud’s wife, Britney, welcomed the couple’s third child this week.
“He’s a healthy little guy, I’ll tell you that,” said Snitker, who saw a picture. “Beautiful baby. I’m glad it worked out like it did for him where he knew he wasn’t coming (to Washington), but it was perfect that he could not have to travel cross-country like we’ve had some guys do, and he was there to do his paternity leave.”
Travis is expected back today for the Dodgers series.
*Cavan Biggio, the newest Brave, was on a road trip in Salt Lake City with San Francisco’s Triple-A affiliate when Atlanta traded for him. Braves president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos explained the situation to Biggio’s agent: Whit Merrifield suffered a fracture in his left foot, and the Braves needed Biggio on standby.
Biggio went to Gwinnett on Sunday. He played on Tuesday. Then the Braves added him on Wednesday, when he started at second base and hit eighth. The Braves, Snitker said, hope Merrifield can play today against the Dodgers.
This season has brought something new for Biggio, who’s the son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio. Before 2024, Cavan had spent his entire career with the Blue Jays, who drafted him in 2016.
In June, the Blue Jays designated him for assignment, then traded him to the Dodgers. The Dodgers released him in August and the Giants signed him. He spent a couple weeks in the organization before the Braves acquired him.
The way he views it: Teams like the Dodgers and Braves wanting him during a down season is reason for optimism.
“You can look at my year, at the numbers, or I can look at the year, at the numbers and everything, and get discouraged about it,” Biggio said. “But I keep finding opportunities in front of me, so I’m gonna keep continuing to get better and keep working, and obviously just try to help this team win as many games as possible, try to get us in the playoffs.”
Biggio has seen the Braves from afar for a long time, dating to when his dad faced Atlanta in his playing days. He has a lot of respect for the Braves and is happy to be here.
“You see it amongst a bunch of organizations that try to adopt from organizations that have a lot of success,” Biggio said. “When I was in Toronto, my first year we lost almost 100 games, and then we were able to learn from other organizations of how we can get better, and we were able to grow from that. I think the Braves have always been in front of everybody in that aspect, or at least in the top five teams in that aspect. Obviously, it’s a very well-run ship here, especially when you have success for how long they have. And they keep guys around and try to build a culture, which is incredibly important and really fun to be around.”
*Michael Harris II’s Instagram story can be really funny. And after Tuesday night’s game, it featured a playful smack-talking post about him and his buddies beating some Nationals players in an online game of NBA 2K25, which recently dropped.
The Nationals players he played: CJ Abrams, James Wood, DJ Herz and Nasim Nuñez. With the player he controlled, Harris personally guarded Nuñez.
Harris’ team won, 97-43.
That is not a typo.
*Tonight’s Braves-Dodgers game is on Apple TV+. The broadcast crew is as follows:
Wayne Randazzo (Play-by-play)
Dontrelle Willis (Analyst)
Heidi Watney (Sideline reporter)
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