Before the World Series, the Atlanta Braves’ Brian Snitker managed in Macon

The Atlanta Braves are in the midst of their first World Series appearance since 1999, this time against the Houston Astros. The man at the helm is manager Brian Snitker, a Braves lifer who got his start in the organization as a catcher before Hank Aaron hired him to work as a coach in the minor leagues.

One of his first stops in the early days of his coaching career was in Macon as the manager of the Macon Braves, a minor league affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. He managed in Macon in 1992 and again in 1997 and 1998, winning back-to-back division titles at Luther Williams Field.

He served as Atlanta’s third base coach from 2007 until 2013 when he moved down to Triple-A. In 2016, Snitker was named the interim manager of the Atlanta Braves following the firing of Fredi González. Snitker’s interim tag would be removed before the 2017 season.

Since taking over as the manager, Snitker has led the Braves to four straight division title, a pair of NLCS appearances, an NLCS victory and now has his team in the World Series despite being below .500 at the All-Star break and losing star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. for the season.

However, his impact extends beyond the baseball diamond. Jeff Battcher with Macon RBI said in December of 2017 there was a groundbreaking for a new field in Macon for youth baseball. Battcher mentioned to local radio host Bill Shanks that he wished someone from the Braves could attend.

Shanks mentioned Snitker and put in a call. Snitker was on his way back from Florida on a fishing trip. The manager agreed to stay at Shanks’ house and attend the groundbreaking in the morning on short notice.

Battcher said Snitker showed up after sleeping on the floor the night before and sat in the back of the audience. He added that Snitker never made the event about himself and was there to show his support for the baseball program.

“He is just a remarkable human being who is so humble. That is why everyone is pulling for him,” Battcher said. “He is just such a good person.”

But Snitker wasn’t quite done contributing to baseball in Macon. Battcher needed an endorsement letter to secure funding from Major League Baseball for the field. He said he mailed the letter to Snitker and asked if he would be willing to do it. The following day Snitker signed it and sent it directly to the MLB.

Things like this are why many people are rooting not only for the Braves to win the World Series but also for Snitker to be the one to help put them back at the top of the baseball world.

“It would mean so much to a Braves lifer. He started as a catcher and went through the entire minor league system,” Battcher said. “It would just prove that good things happen to good people. That a good genuine person gets the reward of that hard work and being a quality person.”

This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 12:46 PM.