Six consecutive National League East divsion titles, seven consecutive playoff appearances and one World Series crown. These are all of the major accomplishments the Atlanta Braves have achieved under manager Brian Snitker. 2025 however, has been the disaster no one saw coming.
Atlanta has now dropped seven games in a row and are buried 14 games out of their division. Even a NL Wild Card spot almost already feels out of reach 10 games below .500 (27-37). The majority of the Braves' losses this season have been by a very small margin. This leads people to believe the way Snitker is managing his team is leading to these losses in close games. Many fans are calling for Snitker's firing but the organization appears to be leaning towards keeping him around for the reaminder of the season according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Nightengale makes the point that Snitker's contract expires at the end of this season and is likely to retire after 49 years in the Braves organization. He also believes the Braves' fan base will cheer when Snitker is introduced at the All-Star Game in Atlanta later this summer but they can't be anymore of a false statement should the Braves continue on the track they are now.
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Braves unlikely to fire Brian Snitker
In the midst of the Braves' struggles over the last month, Anthopoulos decided to bring back Fredi Gonzalez as a third base coach and sent Matt Tuiasosopo back to the minors as an infield coordinator. At the time, this almost felt like a warning shot to Brian Snitker to let him know the organization is not afraid to make changes if expectations are not met.
In reality, this "warning" was more like the push-over of a teacher that says they will give you silent lunch if you keep talking but never actually follow through on their threats. In Anthopoulos' defense, he is at war with a double-edged sword here.
Letting Snitker go now after essentially one bad season and his contract about to expire would make it appear the organization allowed a rough stretch to overshadow countless accomplishments these parties have reached together. On the other hand, Braves fans do not deserve the 2025 season to be conceded and Atlanta is expected to compete now.
Despite all of the speculation, debates and protest, Braves fans better buckle up because it sure sounds like Brian Snitker will be in charge for all 162 games of the 2025 season.