Brian Snitker the Right Man to Lead the Atlanta Braves in 2017
General Manager John Coppolella has the Atlanta Braves organization back on the brink of being a contender. With solid trades, and a farm system packed with winners, one gigantic decision remains; who will lead Atlanta in 2017 and beyond?
I’ll admit… I was a skeptic.
After being unimpressed by a lackluster, low-energy start to the 2016 Atlanta Braves season, it was my opinion that Atlanta should move as far away from anyone even remotely associated with Fredi Gonzalez as possible, with the exception of maybe Eddie Perez. Even a few weeks into Brian Snitker‘s interim term, I wasn’t sold.
By early July my optimism about the direction of the Braves organization under Copolella’s leadership had grown, however, and I wrote a column urging estranged fans take off the blinders and look at the big picture. Firing Fredi Gonzalez was a big part of that newfound confidence in the front office, but who would replace him? As the season went on, my confidence in Brian Snitker as the right fit to lead Atlanta back to being a perennial playoff contender also grew.
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After a month or so, my weariness of giving Snit a shot at keeping his job had faded and I started to believe, just as his players had obviously done. Winning will do that, but there was much more to it than box scores.
With Brian Snitker’s leadership, the Braves have grown confident. The team wants to win, and it’s evident in their actions. It’s evident in their disgust when they don’t win, or when they perform poorly that they won’t settle for being losers. The 2016 Braves – from the newest rookie, up to the GM – aren’t interested in the first overall draft pick, and their interim skipper’s achievements reflect that drive.
Under Snitker’s command the team set a goal of not losing 100 games. They accomplished that goal, then kept winning. The second half play of guys like Freddie Freeman and Ender Inciarte, and the confidence of rookies like Mallex Smith and Dansby Swanson is an exciting window into a future under Brian Snitker’s direction.
When Atlanta hired Fredi Gonzalez to replace Bobby Cox, they hired a Braves guy. Unfortunately, the internal pick was a late comer to the historic division title streak, joining the Braves in 2002 to coach at Richmond.
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Starting in 1982, Brian Snitker had directly developed and mentored most of the organization’s prospects who made 14 consecutive playoff appearances possible. Within the organization, he is the strongest remaining link to the “Braves way” that made the success of the 90’s possible, having coached at every single level of the Atlanta farm system.
The Gonzalez experiment was a failure, and though I still believe the front office should conduct interviews of outside candidates, it’s clear that Brian Snitker has earned his shot to finally be the man in Atlanta. Those interviews would only legitimize the eventual interim tag removal.
If keeping the pool internal, the only hire that wouldn’t come off as a slight to other candidates would be Snit, with Eddie Perez and Terry Pendleton also deserving of at least an interview. In my opinion, the only way that pair would consider remaining with the club would be the removal of Snitker’s interim title.
The team is winning, the fans are coming around, and the players have become increasingly open about their desire to see Brian Snitker as the Braves manager in 2017. The future is bright in Atlanta, and Brian Snitker is the right choice to lead the Braves going forward.