The Braves have a new manager and it’s an internal hire. The club announced today that Walt Weiss is the club’s new skipper. Weiss has been the club’s bench coach for many years but now gets a chance to take on a bigger role.
Weiss, 61, played in the majors from 1987 to 2000. The final three seasons of his playing career were spent in Atlanta. After hanging up his spikes, he pivoted into other roles with the Rockies, first as a special advisor to the front office. He then moved into the manager’s chair and was the skipper in Colorado for four years, beginning in 2013. The club had a losing record in all four of those campaigns, finishing each with between 66 and 75 wins, before Weiss resigned.
Going into the 2018 season, Atlanta hired Weiss to the bench coach position, working as top lieutenant to manager Brian Snitker. That was actually a few days before it was reported that Alex Anthopoulos would be the club’s new front office leader. Atlanta had been rebuilding for the previous few years but they emerged as contenders in that 2018 campaign. They went 90-72, their first of what would eventually be six straight National League East division titles. They won the World Series in 2021.
After the 2022 season, Weiss got some reported interest from the Marlins for their managerial vacancy, though he turned down an interview request. He stayed in Atlanta, continuing to work under Snitker. Snitker announced about a month ago, just before his 70th birthday, that he would not be returning for another season as manager. The club kept their managerial search pretty close to the vest, leading mostly to speculation about who might replace Snitker.
Weiss will now be tasked with turning the club around after a rough patch. After those aforementioned six straight division titles, they slipped to second place and a Wild Card berth last year. Here in 2025, they dropped all the way down to 76 wins and a fourth-place finish.
Expectations will continue to be high, as there is still a lot of talent on the roster. The poor results in 2025 involved several notable injuries and a PED suspension for Jurickson Profar. The club still has a core featuring Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Chris Sale and many others. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos will surely look to bolster the club for a return to form in 2026.
Anthopoulos has surely gotten to know Weiss well over the past eight years and feels he is the man to skipper the club back to greatness. What remains to be seen is if Weiss will shake up the coaching staff, but hiring a new bench coach to replace himself should be one item on the to-do list.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Pathetic
I might it stop being a braves fan
???
Hooked on Phonics
Overract much, I hate this hire also to but being a fan means no quittin’!
My fault didn’t read that t before I sent it
My team once hired their announcer to manage. It can always be worse.
Ted Turner has entered the chat.
A low point during my college years of Braves fandom.
I’m sure the other NL East teams are happy with this decision.
“I’m sure the other NL”…Because you know more about baseball lifers than the actual baseball lifers themselves. Clearly, you know the future before it happens.
Clearly, AA and Braves ownership erred in not running all their options by you and your crystal ball of baseball “knowledge”.
People that decide outcomes months before the data and information comes in, are often not the brightest stars in the sky.
What I can see happening is hiring a very young bench coach now. It’s a more conservative Posey Giant’s type new wave hiring
oh no! someone shared an opinion…on a discussion board! Yes, read them the riot act! Only seasoned MLB professionals are allowed to opine!
Indubitably!
He’s expressing an opinion. You don’t have to agree. You also don’t have to be an axshole
Why would any other NL team be happy? And when have the Braves ever hired some young ‘prove it’ guy? This hire is in keeping with the way they’ve done business and outside of last season, no one can argue with their choices.
I’m sure there were sexier choices, but Weiss is a solid baseball man with institutional knowledge and prior managerial experience, albeit with one of the most dysfunctional franchises in baseball.. Good call. Go Braves!
4 Phillies fans and 3 Mets fans liked this post.
I don’t want a manager with “institutional knowledge”. I want a manager with knowledge of analytics. This is just more of the same. So disappointing. The first time Weiss leaves a struggling starter in too long to try to get them a meaningless win, or refuses to use high leverage relievers when we’re down by 1 run, then uses them in a 6-run game later that week because he “needed the work”, I’m going to dream about what could’ve been.
I’ll take institutional knowledge over analytics anytime. Wins for a pitcher is not a useless stat. My guess is you think that because it’s what the computers say. Analytics is turning sports into video games.
Wins is absolutely a useless stat. If my starter goes 4 innings because he’s struggling and the team wins, I couldn’t not possibly care less. Snitker’s obsession with trying to stretch guys who didn’t have that at least 5 innings so they’d qualify for the win, a stat that no longer is even relevant, is beyond frustrating. And anyone who doesn’t like analytics just doesn’t like the modern game of baseball. The best analytical teams are the best overall teams year in and year out. If you don’t like analytical baseball, find a new hobby, because it’s not changing anytime soon
JFC. I hate it. Hate it. This is like going from Bobby Cox to Fredi 2.0. The Braves are so stuck in the “Braves Way”. Same ole S__T.
Exactly. Same ol’ BS.
Phils fan here. So, in the past 35 years, the Braves won the NL East 21 times and made 24 playoff appearances. Won 2 World Series titles.
I would venture to say that the Braves Way has been a rather sound path overall. Y’all might want to try being a Pirates fan for a change of pace.
Seriously, Weiss & AA haters have a stick up their keisters. Weiss knows the players, he knows the AAA pitchers that filled in this year, he knows the organization. If the Braves were facing a fire sale and were to start from scratch… maybe a move like SF’s would be in order.
So, as an old guy that attended the Mets opener in 1964, have at it with the opinions… you’re entitled… but sheesh… C’mon, it’s not Fredi Gonzalez, is it?
As another old guy whose father took him to two of the Braves/Mets Playoff games in 1969 (when I was 12) I totally agree w/you Joker. I said when Snitker retired that Weiss was going to get the job. He’s the obvious choice, imo. Thought for a bit that the AAA Gwinnett Braves manager Kanekoa Texeria might have been in the running.
I saw that 1969 Braves play a bad Phillies team at Connie Mack Stadium. The Phillies had Dick Allen, Don Money, Larry Hisle, Johnnie Callison, and Rick Wise; but that entire Braves team seemed like an all-star team to a 9-year old.
You bring back memories, Bart! I grew up in NY, a Mets fan in a world of Yankee lovers. Every kid had Al Weiss cards flapping on their bicycle wheels and knew EVERY teams’ lineup. I mail ordered my Mets yearbook every April, the best day was when it arrived. When I turned 16, I drove to Shea and purchased every scheduled doubleheader tickets. ’67 when Koosman & Seaver arrived… ’69 Amazin’ team…. the bad boys of ’86. I moved to Georgia in ’88 and became a Braves fan… a sad sack team to follow in my work travels around the country via TBS. It’s a great game… wish the idiot Commissioner would quit messing with it.
Henry Aaron, Felipe Alou, Rico Carty, Orlando Cepeda, Felix Millan, Clete Boyer, Tito Francona, Sonny Jackson, Bob Didier, Phil Neikro ……….Yeah!
As a Pirates (hometown team) & Braves (adopted/2nd) fan. I completely agree. My grandma watched a lot of TBS so I watched Braves games when we visited her. I presently live less than an hour away from Cleveland. Now that’s a fan base that’s seen it’s share of agony. They haven’t won a World Series in nearly 4 generations and their football team has never made it to a Super Bowl.
Lackluster hire.
Braves always make lackluster hires and mostly win.
What is going on with this FO
What a joke.
Get ready for more of the same. “Braves Way” 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Where do you people come from. He has not managed an inning for us yet, so gloomy. Why don’t yaw become marlin fans
Ugh
If Weiss then why wait so long?
He is a good guy, but honestly disappointed with this decision.
The Braves really don’t like hurting their employees’ feelings. That’s all this was.
I think this wasn’t a forgone conclusion. I’m surprised, but not that it was Weiss. He was the name I was expecting when Snitker decided to step down. What surprised me is that it took until after the WS to be announced.
I believe, with no evidence at all, that they really were considering Lehman but something didn’t go right in their interview, or he decided to stay with the Dodgers.
To me, as you suggested, something broke down and they fell back to Weiss.
It’s frowned upon by MLB to make announcements during the Series… and here we are two days later. I am sure they did their due diligence in chatting up prospective managers… and they decided to go with the man they know… not a man who could BS his way through an interview.
Yes, but the opening was long before the world series and they had more than enough time between series to make the announcement.
More Nick Allen & Eli White bs…
Oakland Braves
Would be fun to see Tim Hudson move from Auburn pitching coach to replace Rick Kranitz, when that time comes.
Wash, also, coming back…hope so. My heart (and his heart, apparently) couldn’t take him leaving.
Huddy left his role on Auburn’s staff 3.5 years ago… but yeah, it would be fun. Since we’re taking moonshots, I want Chipper as hitting coach and Brian McCann as bench coach. Although something tells me, Weiss doesn’t have the cachet for this haul.
Kind of losing the Oakland theme… Chipper still works for the team.
Ugh… they had an opportunity to inject some new enthusiasm and excitement… and instead settled for the easy hire.
Sorry. The Twins beat them to Shelton!
The Braves have one bad year and all their fans are going crazy. I don’t follow the Braves that closely but I think this could be a good hire. I can’t elaborate too much but I know this guy knows baseball and he has some managerial experience. Been the bench coach for several years so this could work out decent. Hope so for the Braves anyway.
Agree why are Braves fans losing their minds over this? Familiarity is a positive in turning a franchise back around. He knows what works and what doesn’t. He knows the players and the farm system. It may not be the “sexy” hire but that doesn’t lock it into being the wrong hire.
Why? Here, as a lifelong Braves fan, I’ll break it down.
1. The timing of the hire. If the Braves had announced Weiss as the manager in the days immediately following Snit’s retirement, I don’t think the reaction would be as bad. Instead, they waited until after the WS. All the buildup, all the speculation, and in the end, it’s someone they could have announced immediately.
Which leads to 2. The hire itself. The longer the search has gone on, the wilder and more interesting the potential candidates have become. David Ross, a former Brave, Danny Lehmann, poaching a coach from a rival, all the way to Tony Vitello, the first college coach to make the jump to the show. Walt Weiss is boring by comparison. But more importantly…
3. His resume. To be fair, no one seems to win in Colorado. I get that. But given that he has a losing record as a manager, it’s hard to get excited about him being the pick to lead the Braves through the remainder of their title window.
4. His age. He’s 61. He’s going to be the manager for maybe five years. The other names being thrown around were much younger, and that would’ve meant long-term stability, assuming the hire panned out. Instead, we’ll be right back here within the decade.
Personally, I am disappointed with the hire, but I wouldn’t say I am losing my mind over it. I just think we could have done better. David Ross was my choice for what that’s worth.
Sidebar: It’s been more than one bad year. It’s been two seasons in a row of inconsistent to outright awful hitting, enough injuries to make me doubt the strength and conditioning team, an up-and-down bullpen, and a ton of head-scratching moves by the FO. Firing the hitting coach after one bad year and watching him work wonders in Seattle for example.
5 years as a manager is a success. I think you’re only going to see a few guys that stay in managerial for longer than that.
Lovullo, Cash, Boone, and Roberts is the list currently, I believe.
@SethHood422 Ross wasn’t even considered a candidate by the FO. It seems pretty evident that there were 2 finalists for the Job, Weiss and Lehman. For whatever reason, Weiss won over Lehman, but that’s why they had to wait until the WS ended.
I don’t want to speculate, but maybe Lehman decided to stay with the Dodgers or maybe his interview sucked.
Couple things to add
Some organizations intentionally don’t announce anything until after the WS as they believe it’s disrespectful to the teams that should have all the focus on them
No Rockies manager in their history has a winning record holding that as a negative seems like a high bar. Best winning % was .441
Dan Wilson is 56 and had never managed before. It’s working out ok.
Maybe Weiss winds up bad but being down on the hire before he gets his manager jock strap seems like a disservice
@seth, this is hilarious. Ross was your man and one main reason you didn’t want Weiss was his losing record. But yet Ross ALSO has….a losing record as a manager. Ross also had a losing record with better teams in a much easier division than Weiss in CO. I’m not thrilled with the Weiss hire either. But saying Ross was your guy negates the novel you posted against Weiss.
” I don’t follow the Braves that closely”
Which immediately negates your opinion.
Get- I follow them close enough to have an educated opinion. Not everyone knows everything like you but I do my best to at least have a knowledgeable opinion. Sorry I don’t meet the criteria you have set upon everyone to meet your lofty standards.
@Getgone2 I follow the Braves closely, have been for well over 30 years and I agree with CLNC thinking and sentiment.
Agree w/you and CLNC. I’ve followed the Braves for 60 years—since the day they moved to Atlanta when I was 9 years old.
Dumb to dumber… in all seriousness despise this choice. this team needs a new voice but nooo we got Walt flipping Weiss my gosh what idiots run this org i hope i’m wrong but still Ahhhhhhh.
I said when Snit announced his retirement that Weiss was the front runner for the job. AA sticking w/what he knows and probably pleasing his veterans w/the choice. The casuals on the site crying because they believe they have special insight. Hilarious.
I don’t remember many on here “claiming to have special insight”….What i do remember is many on here clamoring for a fresh voice from outside the ‘Braves way’ for once. Myself included. Nothing against Weiss and I don’t hate the hire, but if you can’t see why people are upset for what seems like a very lackluster move thats more of a you problem lol.
At least they didn’t hired Derek Shelton
That would have been ignorant
My God this is a pathetic franchise.
It’s the players that ultimately get it done. As long as Weiss can manage the lineup differently ie remove players after a large lead and not have to play them all 9 innings reduces getting injured and gives the bench at bats. Having watched John Schneider manage a team only expected to be 500 last season, Tom wopat wasn’t available.
Lots of people wanted Schneider’s head when the Jays got off to a slow start this year. Now he’s a genius. And Snit was a Braves lifer, in many ways not that different than Weiss. He got a head start by being an interim first, but if Fredi had made it through the season and then Snit had been hired, my guess there would have been the same complaints we are seeing about Weiss.
Good managers don’t make a difference. Bad managers do. Walt is a good manager that can win a WS Title if even 4 injured players from ‘25 are healthy in ‘26. Embracing a major sudden change was NOT the move for this specific club, if healthy.
This seems fine. Or it seems like something I should absolutely meltdown online about.
Boo! Boo! Following Arthur Blank’s Footsteps! Who turned them down from Dodgers/Blue Jays? Pitiful! Just Pitiful! His 1st move: Brian Snitker Bobble Head Night!
Not surprised. Get ready for another bargain bin shopping, “run it back” Braves offseason.
Lots of negative comments here but no one has offered a suitable alternative
Let alone a substantial reason to be so negative on the move lol.
He’s cheap and I think a lot of teams are already planning for a lockout in 2027. Managers get paid even in a lockout.
BS hire. Same old, same old
Braves games will be 5-10 minutes longer on average next year. Weiss is one of the slowest walkers in baseball. Good guy, but sloooooow.
I like Walt and he has definitely paid his dues. That said, with a healthy team next year, we need to see some good results
Ron Washington
Bench Coach
would love that
My guess is Lehman decided to stay for the 3 peat and was possibly paid to do so…. Especially since Bowman leaked his name twice. This isn’t a bad hire just an unexpected one… he will do fine!
I think that’s a great point of view on Lehman….I will, however, disagree on saying it’s unexpected. It was very expected lol. I also have to believe Snit pushed for Weiss from the beginning. Not a bad hire, just very vanilla and safe option.
Anticlimactic as i think a lot of people saw this coming
Geez a lot of hate over it but he has been with the franchise quite a while, knows all the players and personnel.
AA knows his stuff better than most and obviously feels Weiss is the guy to get the Braves back on track.
Agreed! If anyone here was smarter than AA as GM we would be complaining about them instead of AA!
We will see what happens. I’d rather it be Weiss over Ross and a few of the other names that were floated around.
Thank god, at least we can count on the Braves sucking again.
What do you base your opinion on? Some facts please.
Never Remember (blackpink) doesn’t base his opinions on anything reasonable. He lives by the troll standard. Rant, rant, rant and block anyone who disputes his garbage.
Who is “we”?
We’ll see. Until AA invests in better scouting and development, it won’t matter much who’s in the dugout. Talent ultimately wins.
I must say, though, the excellent jobs both Roberts and Schneider did in the WS shows how effective game and roster management can work … at least in the postseason.
lol…so all those fans who were complaining about Snitker, y’all happy now?
Just the comments alone tell you how people feel about this move.
I called this one.
Glad it wasn’t another catcher being named manager.
Catchers make great Managers!
They game-plan every game and handle the Pitching Staffs and are virtually involved in EVERY play of the games! They also know when a pitcher has reached his limit in games. Better than most sitting Managers.
I think Travis d’Arnaud will make a great manager some day! But the Braves go with a Slower than Snitker Team Lifer with a sub-.500 managerial record to keep this team going backwards! Season ticket holders should fold their hands!
Another retread and the slowest mound visit walk in the history of the game.
What could go wrong hiring the worst manager in Rockies history?
Braves need to stop acting like they’re in Alabama with this string of “keeping it in the family” for managers.
The best manager in Rockies history had a .441 winning percentage. Holding being a Rockies manager against them is extremely low hanging fruit.
And he was the worst. Everyone that managed that terrible team was better than him. And they’ve had some bad managers. Seems like a fine barometer.
I think AA knows his team well enough that bringing in a young fiery “Billy Martin” type to manage this team would be a bad move. Could you imagine someone getting in Olson or Riley’s face or any of the veterans? Not needed. Weiss obviously is a known quantity with these players and that weighed into the equation. By the way, x-out the crazy number of injuries and I the feel “the Braves way” has worked out pretty well.
Walt’s history in Colorado as manager was a learning experience for him. It was time to part ways and hopefully Walt has honed his skills in the Braves organization, especially on pitcher management.
How has he honed his skills, especially on pitcher management?
Natural fit.