Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker spoke publicly about his baseball future Wednesday, indicating he’s truly unsure if he’ll retire after this season.
Snitker, 69, has spent 49 years in the Braves’ organization, managing the major-league club since May 2016, when he took over on an interim basis after Fred González was fired early in his sixth season as skipper. Atlanta finished last in the National League East Division in 2016, but Snitker’s interim label was removed after the season, and the club brought him back even after 2017 yielded a fourth straight losing record for the franchise.
The Braves haven’t missed the playoffs since then, but Wednesday night’s loss to the Chicago Cubs left them 65-81 with 16 games remaining on Atlanta’s schedule. That ensures the Braves— who are in fourth place and 21 games out of first place in the NL East, as well as 11 games out of the league’s final wild-card spot for the playoffs — will not finish with a winning record for the first time since that 72-90 mark in 2017.
Fans and members of the media have speculated that this would be Snitker’s final season in Atlanta’s dugout, but he admitted to regularly changing his mind about what he wants to do.
“I want to keep fighting to win as many games as we can, and honestly, when the season is over, I have things in the back of my head that I’m toying with and all,” he said Wednesday. “There’s still fire there. There’s still the fact that I look — it’s kind of like the same thing I said last year, I can’t wait to get to spring training with a healthy team.
“I’m juggling a lot of things. I’m thinking about a lot of things. I honestly don’t know where I’m going to end up and what decision I’m going to make. I still kind of feel like there’s some unfinished business here.”
Atlanta started the season 0-7, had another seven-game losing streak at the start of June and headed into the mid-July break for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game at 42-53. The Braves, who hosted the Midsummer Classic at Truist Park, then went 5-13 after the break when a surging turnaround was needed.
Injuries have affected both the rotation — all five starters as of opening day were on the injured list at the same time earlier this summer — and the lineup, with the season ending early for both catcher Sean Murphy and third baseman Austin Riley due to surgery.
“It’s almost like it depends on the day when you ask me,” Snitker said of his thought process. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about it, and I’m not 100% sure which direction I want to go yet.”
Snitker’s contract expires after the season. Alex Anthopoulos, the team’s president of baseball operations and general manager, spoke with reporters earlier this week and said there’s no timetable for Snitker to make his decision. Snitker expressed appreciation for Anthopoulos’ honesty and for understanding as he weighs multiple factors with his family.
The Braves have been largely successful under Snitker. They won six consecutive division titles from 2018-23 and earned a wild-card spot in the playoffs last October despite an injury-ravaged campaign. He oversaw the 2021 club that became one of the more surprising World Series champions in MLB history.
Snitker joined his friend and mentor Bobby Cox, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014, as the only title-winning managers for the Braves since the club moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta ahead of the 1966 season.
Snitker earned his 800th win this week, becoming the second Atlanta-era manager to reach that total after Cox, who led the Braves to the title in 1995, along with four other World Series appearances.
This season, though, has been a major disappointment. Asked if he has considered those circumstances in his retirement debate, Snitker answered: “Yeah, a little bit.”
Anthopoulos said the Braves haven’t started doing background work on potential candidates in case Snitker does not return, but executives typically have such information somewhere in their mind because they must be prepared for any scenario.
Snitker is adored by his team in a manner comparable with Cox, whose player-friendly demeanor always was cited when discussing his legendary career. Snitker referenced Cox on Wednesday when talking about how he still feels passionate about the job, noting Cox said in his last season (2010): “If I knew I’d have felt this good, I wouldn’t have retired.”
Braves pitcher Chris Sale, the 36-year-old left-hander who won the NL Cy Young Award last year in his first season in Atlanta, called Snitker “a true professional.”
“You talk about a guy with a wealth of knowledge in the game, he’s been around the game as long as anybody I’ve been around,” said Sale, a nine-time MLB All-Star “He means as much to this organization as anybody. He’s always been honest with me, and he’s given me every opportunity I could ever imagine. Even in between innings during starts, in between outings, some things — his door is always open, and he’s an open book.
“That’s all you can ask for in a manager as a player.”
Sale said he has seen the same fire in Snitker as a competitor.
“He wants to win. He cares a lot about this place. He cares a lot about the history of this place,” Sale explained. “I don’t ever see that changing whether he’s here another 10 years or another 10 days or whatever it is. He cares about the Atlanta Braves, the organization, the fan base, the players who’ve been here, are here and are going to be here.”
Anthopoulos said Snitker always will have a role in the organization. He would transition into some type of front-office role upon retirement, as has been the case with numerous iconic figures for the franchise through the years.
The Braves, who were off Thursday, will complete a nine-game homestand when the Houston Astros visit for a three-game series that starts Friday night. That will give Snitker the chance to see his son, Troy, who serves as one of the hitting coaches for Houston, which is in first place in the American League West.
The Braves will have one more homestand to conclude the season on Sept. 22-28, playing three games each against the Washington Nationals and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Those are two of the three teams currently below Atlanta in the NL standings; the other is the Colorado Rockies, who have long been eliminated from contention for a playoff berth.
It’s unclear whether Snitker will announce — or even make — a decision before the season concludes. He reiterated several times Wednesday that he was genuinely undecided, saying his mind “changes, honestly.”
“Again, this is the first time I’ve ever been through this and thinking these thoughts,” he added. “I don’t want to look back in a year and regret things. I want to make sure I know where I’m going.”