Thank goodness Brian Snitker was the choice four years ago
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Four years ago Sunday, Brian Snitker took over as manager of the Atlanta Braves. He was originally a temp, but the gig worked out well and he was given another lifeline. And then another.
Finally, after winning a division title, he was given job security with a two-year contract plus an option. Then he won the division again and had the option picked up.
It shouldn’t be unusual for a man with 43 years in a company to appreciate job security, but you can be Snitker does. This is baseball; it doesn’t happen much.
The Braves have won consecutive division titles for the first time since 2004-2005. Yes, they still haven’t won a playoff series, even under Snitker. But once again they are in the game, and their manager deserves tremendous credit.
When the rebuild was going on, Snitker was the perfect manager. He had been a minor league manager with over 1300 wins. He had helped developed talent his entire career. He knew to be patient and to concentrate on development instead of simply winning games, which is required in a rebuild.
We had no idea what Snitker would be his team got good. Well, we’ve found out. Blame the playoff losses to the Dodgers and Cardinals on him if you want, but don’t. It would be a mistake. His 2018 team didn’t compare with the Dodgers. They just weren’t there yet.
And while we need a new baseball game to wipe out the memory of game five against the Cardinals from last October, we know Snitker wasn’t to blame for his team hitting .128 with runners in scoring position.
Snitker will ultimately be judged on what his team can do in a postseason, if and when they get there again. If they fail to get there, Snitker likely won’t be around long. There will be a mulligan for this season, but once baseball returns to normal, the expectations will be high with this team having so much young talent.
Managers are always judged by what they do in postseasons, almost like quarterbacks in the NFL. While Bobby Cox is in the Hall of Fame as a manager, would he be if his 1995 Braves had not won the World Series? And, unfortunately, don’t some still look on Cox negatively because his teams of the 1990s won the World Series only once?
But Snitker’s value to his organization, the one he’s been with since Jimmy Carter was in his first year as the President of the United States, is clear. He’s gone from a manager trying to prove he can do this at the highest level to providing a comfort level for a team now trying to compete on the biggest stage.
There is a respect factor in play here, much like was there for his mentor, Cox. Players say they’d “run through a wall” for Snitker just like Cox’s players said many times. What else can you want in a manager. The term alone shows how the man in charge must manage a team, manage a clubhouse, manage egos, and manage a long season.
Snitker does that well. You can complain about his use of the bullpen, how long he leaves his starters or relievers in or even lineup construction, but that’s just baseball. If you’re dad was the manager, you’d likely disagree with him, as well. Baseball is all about disagreeing with decisions, particularly if you are a fan that watches the game closely.
Managing is about more than each decision made in every game. We wouldn’t want to keep a scorecard for the good and bad decisions that are made by managers. They good ones would likely outnumber the bad ones.
In this day of front offices, full of young men in polo shirts who think they know everything about the game, it’s good to have a manager who has lived it. It’s good to have someone left in the Braves organization who still appreciates what it means to be a Brave. Not many are left; they’ve all been let go through the years for whatever reason.
The one who is still standing is Snitker and thank goodness he is. After four years, no one else should be in this position than the one who might have thought at the time he would just have it for four-plus months. He’s still there, and with the talent he has, there is more work for him to do in whatever form this game takes moving forward.
Listen to The Bill Shanks Show weekdays at 3:00 p.m. ET on Middle Georgia’s ESPN. You can listen online at TheSuperStations.com. Follow Bill on Twitter at @billshanks and you can email him at thebillshanksshow@yahoo.com.