There were times during the Atlanta Braves’ 33-day search for a new manager that Walt Weiss thought “that ship had sailed” regarding his chances to move up from bench coach and replace Brian Snitker, who is transitioning to an advisor role with the franchise.
On Monday, he got the call he was hoping for from Atlanta general manager Alex Anthopoulos.
“We all know Alex, how thorough he is and how stealthy he is,” said Weiss, who spoke to reporters Tuesday for the first time as Braves manager after eight years as bench coach. “He likes to work under the cover of darkness, and so you know this process would be like that at times. But yeah, I couldn’t be more excited yesterday when I got that call.”
In addition to his eight years as Snitker’s bench coach, during which the Braves reached the postseason seven times, Weiss played the final three years of his 14-year MLB career in Atlanta from 1998-2000. He was an All-Star for the only time in his career in 1998 under Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox.
There was speculation the Braves would go outside the Cox tree for this opening after hiring Fredi González (2011) and Snitker (2016). Anthopoulos did not specify how many formal interviews he conducted, though he said he spoke to “a lot” of candidates and other people about the opening. Ultimately, he stayed in house.
“It is important for us to get it right,” Anthopoulos said. “It was a rare opportunity for us to really canvas the entire league, talk to as many people and do as much background work as we could. And ultimately, that search came back to Walt, and I couldn’t be more excited his experience, his character, his work ethic. (It) is exactly what we want here.”
Weiss won a World Series with Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa in Oakland and either played or worked under Don Baylor, Rene Lachemann, Clint Hurdle and Snitker. He said he has learned from all of them and will incorporate that into how he works his second stint as an MLB manager, which lasted from 2013-16 in Colorado. He had a 283-365 record (.437).
“I’ve evolved from my first job in Colorado,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot. The game has changed. I’m sure I’ve changed and hopefully (I’m) wiser.”
Weiss said any team outside of the Dodgers would sign up for what the Braves have accomplished the last eight years under Snitker and he understands the brand of the franchise and what it means to the fanbase. He also said his familiarity with the players and the organization will allow him to hit the ground running during his first season when the Braves try to rebound from a 76-86 season that had a mix of costly injuries and some underperformance of established players.
“It takes a better part of a year to truly understand your team,” Weiss said. “I’m talking about getting to know them on a deep level. What makes them tick? What situations (do) they thrive in, even down to their body language? So that’s a process that takes the better part of a year. And I think the fact that I’ve been here, a lot of those things are already established.”
The Braves did not have any announcements regarding Weiss’s staff, but that is a “front-burner” issue for Anthopoulos, who said he has already discussed it with Weiss. He also made it clear what the expectations are moving forward.
“(Making the playoffs), that’s just a standard that we’ve set here,” Anthopoulos said. “And that’s a credit to Snit, to Bobby Cox, to (former general manager) John Schuerholz that have set the standard here. You know, you guys like Nick Saban, the standard is the standard, and it is. We expect to be in the playoffs year in and year out. So, you know, this is a real responsibility, and we owed it to make sure that we left no stone unturned and were as thorough as we could be, even if it was someone that was already internal.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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