After leading Atlanta to the NL East title and its first appearance in the postseason since 2013, the manager of the Braves, Brian Snitker, agreed to a two-year extension of his contract. A club option for 2021 is included in the deal that was announced on Monday.
A young clubhouse is likely to approve of the extension. Snitker was constantly praised by the players for always supporting them. Freddie Freeman, a star first baseman, said, “He did a remarkable job.” “He’s one of the best at managing 25 to 35 personalities,” says the author.
After Freddie Gonzalez’s firing in May 2016, Snitker was appointed interim manager. He will be entering his 43rd season as a member of the organization and his third full season as the club’s manager. With some of baseball’s best young talent, including Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, and Mike Foltynewicz, the Braves improved to 90-72 after a third consecutive season of 90 losses in 2017. In the NL Division Series, they were defeated by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Snitker stated, “We’re going there, but we’re not there yet.” We are by no means a finished product. Snitker was the fourth-oldest rookie manager in baseball history when he took over for the Braves. He admitted, “I’ve always been a late bloomer,” during spring training in 2017, following the removal of the interim tag. I don’t think I’m old. I’m just going to take it for what it is and have fun with it.
Snitker joined the team in 1977 and played first base and catching in the minor leagues for four seasons before becoming a coach. At the age of 26, he managed for the first time in the Class A South Atlantic League. When he joined the big league club in 1985 as a bullpen coach, his star seemed to rise.
It did not endure. The following season, he went back to the minors and settled into a career that was mostly overlooked as an organizational jack-of-all-trades. He worked as a manager at every minor league level, from the rookie leagues to Triple-A, and he was hired twice more to coach the big league team. Snitker stated in 2017 that “I was like, ‘Eh, I’m getting to that age where it probably won’t (happen)’ after being up here and seeing what those guys go through and all that.” “Then they called all of a sudden. “Heck, yeah, I’ll do it,” it says.
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