Braves: Brian Snitker May Have Done His Best Work Yet

The Atlanta Braves have now won the NL East three straight year and this could be the most impressive of them all.

I’ve been as critical as anyone about Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker and how he chooses to manage a game.

But you can’t deny the success he’s had as the team’s manager.

Yes, he’s been given a lot of very talented players, but he’s been able to get the most out of them and put them in spots to be successful.

It seems like hardly anyone has picked the Braves to win the division the last three seasons, but yet Snitker and his team have continually proven everyone wrong and got the job done.

But again, this might be the most impressive job Snitker has done in his time as the team’s manager.

This is a team that has had all kinds of pitching issues in the starting rotation. A rotation at the beginning of the year they were hoping would include Mike Soroka, Cole Hamels, Max Fried, Mike Foltynewicz, and Sean Newcomb.

Fried is the only one left standing and even he has had his share of injury issues.

But it hasn’t just been the pitching side that’s been hurt, he’s spent plenty of time this year without two of his best hitters in the lineup in Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies.

Acuna and Ozzie were expected to be part of a three-headed monster atop the lineup with Freddie Freeman, who — oh by the way — started the season coming off of COVID-19.

Now, I get that a lot of teams are dealing with injuries and COVID-19 related issues this year, but I can’t imagine another team losing as much time to it’s best players like the Braves have.

And yet Snitker was able to rally the troops and not only make it back to the postseason but essentially run away with the NL East all season.

Because of the weirdness of the season, the Marlins technically led the division for the first three or four weeks. But once the Braves finally overtook them winning percentage-wise on August 17, they never looked back.

And it’s not even the injuries that Snitker has had to deal with, this was a very different and strange season for everyone. Most managers have had to learn on the fly how to handle expanded rosters, 7-inning double-headers, extra-inning weirdness, and a DH in the NL.

Snitker has navigated all of that smoothly and allowed his talented players to just do their jobs. He’s moved guys around in the lineup to make sure the bats who are hot are getting the best opportunities.

You can complain about Snitker’s use of the pitching staff — and some of it justified — but you can’t argue with the results. He continues to prove the predictors wrong, and we’re lucky to have him as our manager.