COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker will not return next season.
The team made it official Wednesday morning just ahead of its end-of-the-season news conference.
Snitker, who turns 70 later this month, has been a part of the Braves organization for 49 years. He has spent his time in the organization since 1976 as a player, coach and manager.
His managerial contract with the team expired at midnight on Oct. 1. Snitker will be taking on a new role as a special advisor to General Manager Alex Anthopolous.
Snitker said he never expected to be the Braves manager for one day, let alone a decade. He knew this day would come after he signed an extension three years ago.
“And I felt good about that because I said, I don’t know that I’d ever stop. Quite honestly,” Snitker told Channel 2 sports director Zach Klein.
“And then as you go in and if you had asked me in April, May, June or July, I said, ‘Heck yeah, I’m done when this is over.’ But you know what, two weeks to go and you’re still in the heat of the battle and everything. And like I said, I’d never been through this. So I didn’t know what I was gonna think, how I was going to react or whatever. But you know what, once I decompressed a little bit, I was like, you know, it is time.”
After his 800th win earlier in September, Klein asked Anthopolous if he had conversations with Snitker about his future.
He said they would save those talks for after the regular season ended, but that Snitker has earned his spot in Braves history. In Wednesday’s announcement, Anthopolous said Snitker would be inducted to the Braves Hall of Fame during the 2026 season.
“The partnership, the friendship, the success we’ve had together has been one of the great joys and honors of my career,” Anthopolous said. “To be here today and to get to continue to work with Snit in a front office role, we get to that partnership and relationship is going to be a privilege, certainly."
The Braves season ended on Sept. 28. The team finished fourth in the NL East with a 76-86 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Snitker holds a 811-668 career record as Atlanta’s manager from 2016-2025 and led the team to the 2021 World Series title, its first since 1995.
The skipper said he looks forward to spending more time with his family, particularly his three grandsons.
“I want to be around as much as I can with them. And that’s it."
TRENDING STORIES:
- Ohtani and Hernández power Dodgers past Reds 10-5 with 2 homers each in Wild Card Series opener
- Boone defends his moves after Yankees bullpen falters again in playoff-opening loss to the Red Sox
- Seiya Suzuki’s home run helps the Chicago Cubs to Game 1 win over the San Diego Padres
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]