Braves front office: Brian Snitker among leading candidates for manager's job
The Atlanta Braves are narrowing their managerial search and Brian Snitker is considered a frontrunner after guiding the franchise to a 37-35 record in the season's second half.
President of baseball operations John Hart and general manager John Coppolella sat next to Snitker, who replaced Fredi Gonzalez as the franchise’s manager on May 17, on Monday morning and praised his body of work in what amounted to a four-month interview for the 2017 job. Snitker highlights a list including known external candidates, Bud Black and Ron Washington, and internal options Bo Porter, Terry Pendleton and Eddie Perez.
“This isn’t gonna be an open troll where we extend a big line out there and start pulling out popular names,” Hart said of the ongoing search. “These are guys that we have some level of knowledge or and a comfort with.”
The Braves front office expects to find an answer in the near future.
Given the statements from Hart and Coppolella on Monday, it is unlikely any internal candidate outside of Snitker claims the gig. (Hart openly petitioned for other clubs to interview their three other managerial candidates.) Coppolella, entering his second offseason as general manager, mentioned that previous managerial experience was high on the list of qualifications, and Hart doubled back to say it would be "very difficult" for a member of Snitker's own coaching staff to leapfrog him in line.
Snitker made it clear he wants to return and build on the up-and-coming roster’s strong finish.
“In the beginning I wasn’t sure. In the end, yeah I’d like to have this opportunity,” Snitker said. “ … I’ve seen what you need to do in an organization in order to be competitive up here, and I think everything’s headed in the right direction.
“It’s starting to feel like it did back in the day when we were putting those banners up there.”
Black, who spent time in the Cleveland Indians front office under Hart and pitched in the Royals organization when Braves vice chairman John Schuerholz was the general manager in Kansas City, interviewed for the job on Monday. Black previously managed the San Diego Padres from 2007 to 2015, compiling a 649-713 record and winning NL Manager of the Year in 2010.
Washington, the Oakland Athletics’ third-base coach, managed the Rangers to back-to-back World Series runs in 2010 and 2011 when Hart was working as a senior adviser for Texas.
Other potential candidates — like former Braves player Walt Weiss, who stepped down as Rockies manager on Monday — were not mentioned.
Multiple Atlanta players, notably standout center fielder Ender Inciarte and infielder Jace Peterson, publicly lobbied for Snitker to stay in place as the team hit its late-season stride. Hart acknowledged that those sentiments will influence the decision-making process.
“This game’s about the players. It is about the players. We like our players. We believe in our players. We care what our players say,” Hart said. “I think that is certainly a strong endorsement of Brian from the players. It certainly plays a role. It factors in. No question about it.”
Context is required for the franchise’s midseason turnaround, though.
While it’s true the team floundered early, starting the season 9-28, under Gonzalez, he also never received the opportunity to manage the likes of Dansby Swanson, Matt Kemp or Mauricio Cabrera. Inciarte did not perform like an everyday leadoff hitter and Freddie Freeman did not hit like an MVP in the first half, either. Above all else, players matter. And as the season progressed, the team boasted more high-end talent. As Hart put it, “You can put Willie Shoemaker on a mule and you’re not going to win the Kentucky Derby.”
The organization clearly sees positive writing on the wall.
“What you want to see whether you’re a part of it or not, you always want to leave a place better,” Coppolella said. “I felt like we got better each year. I know going from 79 wins in 2014 to 67 wins last year didn’t seem like we got better, but we got better. We got better talent, better young players. Going from 67 wins to 68 wins may not seem like a huge leap, but we got a lot better.”
Now it’s just a matter of finding the right candidate to call the nightly shots at SunTrust Park.
