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Mike Chiari is the featured Columnist IV for the Atlanta Braves.
AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
The Braves exercised the option on Brian Snitker's contract, keeping him in Atlanta for at least the next three years.
The Braves are coming off one of the greatest seasons in franchise history, with a World Series win over the Houston Astros, and they decided to exercise Snitker's option.
The Braves won their first World Series title in 20 years despite going just 88- 73 in the regular season.
Snitker took over as interim manager of the Braves after Fredi Gonzalez was fired. The Braves made Snitker their full-time manager after they went 59-65.
The decision to go 72-90 in Atlanta was questioned by some, but the 66-year-old has done a great job since then.
The Braves won the NL East and made the playoffs every year. After winning the National League Championship Series in 2020, they won it all last season.
Snitker has a managerial career that has seen him manage for a total of 431-390 (.531) regular season games.
He has finished in the top four in the voting in each of the past four seasons, and he won the NL Manager of the Year Award in the same year.
The best managerial job of Snitker's career may have been last season because of the amount of personnel he had to contend with.
Ronald Acuna Jr. was lost for the season in July because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament, while starting pitcher Mike Soroka didn't pitch at all after suffering an injured toe.
Marcell Ozuna only played 48 games for Atlanta before being placed on administrative leave for the rest of the season due to domestic violence allegations.
The Braves made several significant in-season trades, and Snitker masterfully integrated the likes of Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall and Eddie Rosario along the way.
Both Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies enjoyed career years under Snitker.
The Braves should be a World Series contender again in 2022, if a healthy Acuna returns next season and Atlanta re-signs first baseman Freddie Freeman in free agency.
