Sports Zone /OSSD MAJOR BLOGS Raw Feed Web

Select A Southern League Team Southern League Top Stories Birmingham Barons Mobile BayBears Montgomery Biscuits Greenville Braves West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx Chattanooga Lookouts Carolina Mudcats Jacksonville Suns Huntsville Stars Tennessee Smokiies

 

It's All About Fun
New G-Braves manager Brian Snitker wants to keep the game fun

Kathy Johnson
Minor League News

03.06.02 - New Greenville Braves manager Brian Snitker met with the local media at Municipal Stadium. Being a baseball manager for several years, Brian Snitker says he still hasn't developed a true "style", because minor-league managers don't choose their players.

When Snitker managed the Atlanta Braves speedster Rafael Furcal in Myrtle Beach, for example, he liked to call for the steal.

Snitker, now the new manager of the Greenville Braves, sounded more likely to crack a smile than to crack a whip when asked for a self-portrait. "I guess my style is...enjoy yourself, have fun, relax," Snitker said. "Life's too short to make this a big deal, even though it is. But I think you have to enjoy yourself to be competitive and to get the most out of your players.

"I kind of like to turn the thing over to the players and let them play. They're here for a reason; they have a lot of abilities, a lot of talents, and I think probably the more I can stay out of their way, the better they'll do."

Brian Snitker  has been a member of the organization since being signed by the Braves as a catcher in 1977. And was also a coach for the G-Braves in 1993, 1994, and 1996.

Snitker, 46, was moved by the Braves'organization from Myrtle Beach to Greenville in the offseason. Managing six minor-league clubs in all or part of 12 seasons, he also included a successful three-year stint with the Pelicans.

Under Snitker, Myrtle Beach won Carolina League titles in 1999 and 2000 and had a 238-179 record.

All of the Greenville Braves staff from last year have been retained - pitching coach, Bill Champion, hitting/first base coach Mel Roberts, and trainer Jay Williams.

Mel Roberts, having known Snitker since the early '80's, said Snitker's main asset is his communications skills.

"He doesn't do anything that's just, 'That's the way we do it,' "Roberts said. "Whatever it takes to get it done, that's the way he's gonna do it. I do that myself, and when you relate that to the kids, they relax, and they're able to be a little more susceptible to what you're trying to get them to do."

Brian will probably have more familiar players than if he hadn't changed teams because of the nature of minor-league baseball. At least half of last year's Myrtle Beach squad would move up to Greenville this year, Snitker has estimated.

In an ideal world, players would find a new manager at each step up the organizational ladder, because each coach or manager had something to teach, agreed Snitker. Still he was thrilled to get the promotion.

"I'm really excited about coming up the road and getting an opportunity here," he said. "Just like for a player, it's kind of a step up the ladder rung for me, and I'm excited about the challenge and a new season."