Brian Snitker, Manager, Atlanta Braves
Date of Birth: 10/17/1955
Birthplace: Decatur, Illinois
College: University of New Orleans
Brian Snitker, manager for the Atlanta Braves, never played in the major leagues but he has had extensive experience managing minor league baseball teams and coaching major league players. His playing career was as a minor league catcher for the Braves from 1977 through 1980. He finished his career with a .254 batting average, 198 hits, and 112 RBIs in 236 games.
After finishing his career as a player, Snitker began managing in the minor leagues in 1982. He spent 19 years as a manager (1982-1984, 1986-1987, 1992, 1996-2006, 2014-2015) and he led teams to 1,282 wins and 1,289 losses. In both 1999 and 2000, he was named Carolina League Manager of the Year.
In between his stints as a minor league manager, Snitker moved up to the major leagues as a coach for the Braves. He was their bullpen coach in 1985 and from 1988 through 1990, and their third base coach from 2007 through 2013.
Snitker replaced Fredi Gonzalez as the Braves' interim manager on May 17, 2016. He led the Braves to 59 wins and 65 losses. Although that doesn't sound like a very good record, it far exceeeded what the Braves had done under Gonzalez' leadership. When Snitker took over as manager, the Braves had a record of 9 wins to 28 losses.
On October 11, 2016, Snitker was named the permanent manager for the Braves for 2017. The Braves finished the 2017 season in third place in the NL East division. They had 72 wins and 90 losses.
Snitker led the Braves to a first place finish in the NL East division in 2018. They had 90 wins and 72 losses. They lost the division series, however, in four games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Snitker was given a two-year contract extension on October 15, 2018. A month later, he won the NL Manager of the Year award.
Snitker again led the Braves to the NL East division title in 2019, with 97 wins and 65 losses. They lost the NLDS to the St. Louis Cardinals in five games.
In the shortened 2020 season, Snitker again led the Braves to a NL East division title with 35 wins and 25 losses. They then defeated the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card Series in two games. They defeated the Miami Marlins in the NL Division Series in three games, but they lost the NL Championship Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.
Snitker led the Braves to a World Series championship in 2021. They finished the regular season in first place in the NL East division with 88 wins and 73 losses. They won the NL Division Series three games to one over the Milwaukee Brewers and the NL Championship Series four games to two over the Dodgers. They defeated the Houston Astros in six games to win the World Series.
Snitker's record as the Braves' manager for six seasons is 441 wins and 390 losses.
Personal Life
Snitker's son, Troy, was drafted by the Braves in 2011. He played for just two seasons in their minor league system before being released on June 12, 2013. He signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals on January 31, 2014, but he was released before ever playing in the Royals' organization. He hasn't played professional baseball since 2012.
Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Brian Snitker
Baseball Reference - Brian Snitker