The Atlanta Braves are in the final stretch of the regular season, and a major change could be on the horizon at the manager position. Brian Snitker is in the final year of his contract, and with the way the season has unfolded, this could very well be the end of his tenure.
“Because of that consistent recent success, Snit would normally be afforded a ‘mulligan’ year—even though going from the second-best preseason World Series odds to possibly the third-best odds of winning the draft lottery is a pretty serious mulligan,” Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller wrote. “At 69, though, he’s already the oldest manager in the National League by a several-year margin and was likely to retire at the end of this season, which is the last one in his current contract.”
Despite the overall struggles, the Braves recently made MLB history during a nine-game winning streak against the Washington Nationals.
“Over their last 9 games, the Braves: haven’t lost, haven’t committed an error, haven’t scored fewer than 5 runs, haven’t allowed more than 5 runs. No other team in MLB history has done that over a 9-game span,” Opta Stats posted.
With the Braves playing some of their best baseball lately, there’s a frustrating perspective on how the season might have turned out differently if just one statistic had been in their control.
“Braves are now 75-76 since losing all 7 games on that disastrous season opening trip. Difference in being a club in the Wild Card hunt right now and one heading home in 4 days? About 1 win per month. Throw in all those 1-run losses and it gets pretty infuriating pretty fast,” Braves reporter Grant McAuley wrote.
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The Braves are the worst team in MLB this season when it comes to one-run losses. Had they managed even a .500 record in those games—or flipped the script entirely—they would likely be in playoff contention right now.
But that’s not how this season has gone. The 0-7 start should have been a major red flag. And the countless one-run losses may have ultimately cost Atlanta a shot at the postseason—or even a potential World Series run.
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