The Atlanta Braves won the National League East every year since 2018, including the shortened, Covid-ravaged 2020 season, winning the World Series in 2021. They won more than 100 games in both 2022 and 2023.
Both of those streaks ended this year. Atlanta won 89 games and, with a win in game #162, just barely snuck into the playoffs as a wild card. They then went gently into that baseball night by losing two straight games to the Padres. Some teams might look at these basic facts and at least think about replacing their manager, in this case Brian Snitker. But in my opinion, this may be the best managing job he has ever turned in.
We (probably) all love the spring: first and foremost, it gets us out of winter and gives us warmer weather; it gives us flowers and brighter colors; and baseball begins again. (Allergies can be a major negative, but we’ll ignore them here.) Wherever you look you find renewal and rebirth, including in training camps, where each major league team is undefeated and anticipates having a big season. Managers and general managers and even players happily talk about being a year older and a little more mature, they’ll mention adding this player over the winter and that hot-shot prospect who may prove to be a strong Rookie of the Year candidate.
Go back to February and March and you’ll find Atlanta pointing to its strong starting rotation, anchored by young studs Max Fried and Spencer Strider, plus veteran Charlie Morton, along with the addition of lefthander Chris Sale. They were boasting their hard-hitting infield with All-Stars at ever position, including both of their catchers, an exciting young centerfielder in Michael Harris II, and Ronald Acuña Jr. The reigning Most Valuable Player, Acuña had put together a record-breaking season in which he led the National League in seven offensive categories, hit 41 home runs and stole 73 bases. Back in the spring, BravesWorld was anticipating another steamrolling of the NL East and, hopefully, a second World Series triumph this decade.
It didn’t happen, not even close. And the reason is as old as baseball itself – injuries.
Yeah, I know, no team goes through the long season without losing people, either for a few days or a few weeks or until the following spring. Without doing any research at all, I can guarantee that every team fighting to reach the World Series has lost at least one key member this summer, maybe even more than one. But the Braves’ 2024 Injured List was close to a complete lineup; in fact, six of the ten players who started on Opening Day missed at least two months of the year:
- All-Star catcher Sean Murphy was hurt on Opening Day, missed several weeks, and never did seem to get untracked, batting only .193 with just 25 RBI.
- Spencer Strider, who won 31 games over the past two years and struck out nearly 500 batter, injured his elbow in his second start of the year and will not return until June… perhaps.
- The aforementioned Ronald Acuña Jr., one of the league’s best and most exciting players and the recognized catalyst of the offense, tore his ACL in late May and missed the rest of the season; he is hoping to be ready for spring training but may be out longer.
- All-Star southpaw Max Fried had two stints on the Injured List, and while he did win 11 games in 2024, he never showed the kind of consistency he had in the past.
- Another All-Star, second baseman Ozzie Albies, suffered a wrist injury that had him out of the lineup for two months and, when he returned very late in the season, prevented the switch-hitter from batting left-handed.
- Michael Harris II, the 2022 NL Rookie of the Year, missed several weeks with a strained left hamstring.
- Reliable late-inning reliever A.J. Minter never really looked like himself and eventually underwent hip surgery; having just turned 31, one has to wonder how long his body will take to heal.
- Power-hitting third baseman Austin Riley, a key bat in the lineup, was hit in the hand by a 97 mph fastball in mid-August and missed the rest of the season.
- The Braves got lucky when they acquired two pitchers during the off-season. They traded for oft-injured lefthander Chris Sale, and all he did was lead the National League in wins, winning percentage, ERA and strikeouts; he is the favorite to capture the Cy Young Award. But in mid-September, he began suffering back spasms, making it impossible to pitch in the crucial, season-ending double-header against the Mets, nor was he available for the (brief) Wild Card series against San Diego. Meanwhile, free agent signee Reynaldo Lopez became a reliable starter for Atlanta, with a 1.99 ERA, but shoulder inflammation ended his season shortly after Labor Day.
And yet, the Braves won 89 games and qualified for the post-season. There was still great talent on the team – DH Marcell Ozuna’s bat carried them in the first half as he drove in over 100 runs and challenged for the batting title, while first baseman Matt Olson played all 162 games for the third straight year, and just missed his fourth consecutive 100-RBI season – but in my opinion, the main reason Atlanta did not cave under the weight of all those injuries is their manager, Brian Snitker. He calmly but deftly guided his players through all the minefields, utilizing whomever showed up from the minor leagues (like speedy utility player Eli White, or pitchers Spencer Schwellenbach and Grant Holmes) or as mid-season free agents (outfielder Ramon Laureano and infielders Whit Merrifield and Gio Urshela), or in a deal made just prior to the trade deadline (welcome back, outfielder Jorge Soler). As the injuries kept on comin’, general manager Alex Anthopoulos brought in these players and Snitker utilized their various skills, making moves like a chess champion and leading his team to the post-season. The fact that they had nothing left in the tank in the series against San Diego is not indicative of the job Snitker did this spring and summer. It’s easy to win when everyone is playing right up to their abilities, like last year, when the Braves won 104 games, scored over 900 runs, averaged more than nine hits per game, and became just the third club ever to crack 300 home runs. It’s not nearly as simple when, due primarily to the never-ending list of players MIA, all those numbers fell drastically. In my opinion, making the playoffs this year was a major achievement, and all credit must go to manager Brian Snitker. The baseball writers will not choose him to be the National League Manager of the Year, but the 2024 season ought to go down as perhaps the finest season-long work of his career.