ATLANTA (WBTV) – The Atlanta Braves’ World Series-winning manager will not return to the role in 2026, the team said Wednesday.
Brian Snitker — who managed the Braves to a World Series championship in 2021 — will move to an advisory role with the club.
The 69-year-old manager has been in the Braves organization for nearly 50 years, going back to when he joined Atlanta’s minor league system as an undrafted player in 1977. He played through the 1980 season but never made it past the Double-A level. After that, he transitioned to coaching, staying within the Braves organization.
Snitker managed more than 2,000 minor league games in Atlanta’s system across three decades but got his big break in 2016 when he took over as the big league club’s interim manager after then Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez got fired midseason.
Snitker was hired for the full-time gig ahead of the 2017 season, and proceeded to win six National League East division titles, made the playoffs seven times, and of course won the World Series in 2021.
His 811 wins as manager are third-most in Braves franchise history. Only Hall of Famers Bobby Cox and Frank Selee won more, although Selee’s managerial tenure came when the Braves were still in Boston.
Longtime Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker will not return to the role in 2026.(Brynn Anderson | AP)
Atlanta missed the postseason in 2025, which brought their season to an end this past Sunday, Sept. 28. As the season winded down, Snitker said he was unsure if he would return in 2026.
With his departure from the Braves’ managerial duties, Atlanta will look for a replacement to lead a talented roster that features the likes of 2023 National League MVP Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Spencer Strider and others.
The team said Snitker will be inducted into the Braves’ Hall of Fame before the start of a game in 2026. An exact date was not immediately set for that ceremony.
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