Brian Snitker has reached another career milestone. After a successful world title run in 2021, The oldest manager in the National League has eclipsed 500 career wins. He did so as the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3. Snitker now joins a very elite group of Braves skippers that have reached this mark. He joins the likes of Bobby Cox, Frank Selee, George Stallings, and Bill McKechnie. Snitker is having quite the year as he’s coming off managing the Braves to their first World Series title since 1995 and a new contract extension. However, for the 66-year-old, it was another day at his monumentally successful office.
Brian Snitker began his journey as a minor league catcher with the Braves in 1977. Following three professional seasons, Snitker went from retiring as a player to coaching full-time. He got his first experience managing in 1982, leading the Anderson Braves to its only winning season in its five-year stint in Anderson. Snitker had the chance to coach the Durham Bulls and numerous other minor league teams. Eventually, Snitker was hired as the Braves bullpen coach in 1985 and 1988-1990. He did spend time between the minors and the big leagues throughout the 1990s. A few of Snitker’s achievements during his tenure as a minor league manager include leading the Myrtle Beach Pelicans to the Carolina League championship in 1999 and 2000.
His consistent leadership brought him back to the big leagues in 2007. Snitker was the Braves third base coach until 2013. Following the 2013 season, Snitker returned to the minors as the manager of the Braves Triple-A club, the Gwinnett Braves. Snitker returned to the majors as the Braves’ interim manager, replacing Fredi Gonzalez after losing 28 of their first 37 games. Since then, he was named the National League Manager of the Year two years later, when Atlanta won the first of four straight National League East titles. Snitker now ranks fifth on the franchise’s all-time managerial wins list and games managed.
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Players/Managers Mentioned:
Brian Snitker, Bobby Cox, George Stallings, Bill McKechnie, Fredi Gonzalez, Joe Torre, Harry Wright, Billy Southworth
