Snitker named NL Manager of Year

ATLANTA -- A year after doubting whether he'd have the chance to extend what was an unexpected opportunity, Braves skipper Brian Snitker can now proudly lay claim to the 2018 National League Manager of the Year Award.

Snitker was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude when he was announced as the winner on Tuesday evening. Less than three years after being given what was expected to be a short-term, interim role as a Major League manager, he proved he was the right man to lead the Braves through a rebuild and back to the postseason.

Snitker received 17 first-place votes and was included on each of the 30 ballots cast by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He finished ahead of Milwaukee's Craig Counsell, who received 11 first-place votes. Colorado's Bud Black and Chicago's Joe Maddon each received one first-place vote.

Guiding the Braves to an unexpected NL East crown highlighted what was a memorable 12-month span for Snitker. The 63-year-old baseball lifer has served as a player, coach or manager within the Braves organization dating back to 1977. But a little more than a year ago, he wondered whether he had a future with the club.

When the 2017 season ended, former Braves general manager John Coppolella wanted a different manager and Snitker had no desire to continue working for Coppolella.

Everything changed when Coppolella was relieved of his duties the day after the season. Snitker's contract option for the 2018 was exercised just a few days later. Another key development occurred in early November, when Alex Anthopoulos was lured to Atlanta to run the Braves' baseball operations.

Though Snitker might not have been familiar with the more aggressive analytics approach Anthopoulos brought to the organization, Snitker benefited from his willingness to digest the information and use it to fortify the knowledge and leadership skills he had gathered over the previous four decades.

One of the most memorable moments of this past season occurred when an enraged Snitker emphatically yelled at Jose Urena after the Marlins' pitcher beaned Ronald Acuna Jr. with a first-pitch fastball on Aug. 15. The passion and protective nature shown certainly weren't surprising to former Braves Jeff Francoeur, Kelly Johnson, David Justice or the countless others who had Snitker as a manager at the Minor League level.

Snitker rekindled his Minor League managerial career when John Schuerholz became Atlanta's manager after the 1990 season. He also swallowed his pride when Frank Wren demoted him from Braves third-base coach to Triple-A manager after the 2013 season.

Once the sting of that move evaporated over the season that followed, Snitker accepted the likelihood he would never have the opportunity to manage in the big leagues.

That all changed when he replaced Fredi Gonzalez as Atlanta's manager six weeks into the 2016 season. Snitker inherited a team that was 9-28. But Freddie Freeman said he and his teammates felt like they were 28-9 when Snitker addressed the team before his first game as a big league skipper.

Once that season concluded, the Braves stuck with Snitker, passing on the opportunity to hire Black. The decision was influenced by a campaign waged by Freeman and Nick Markakis, who quickly grew appreciative and comfortable with Snitker's leadership.

Given they had been part of the three consecutive 90-loss seasons during the organization's massive rebuild, Freeman, Markakis and Julio Teheran had a genuine appreciation for the tears of joy Snitker shed on Sept. 22, when the Braves clinched the NL East. Many preseason predictions had Atlanta pegged for a fourth-place finish.

The Braves spent 115 days in first place and never experienced anything longer than a four-game losing streak. Snitker's calm approach fueled his team's resilient nature, a trait that was seen when Atlanta blew a six-run, eighth-inning lead to the Red Sox on Sept. 5 and then proceeded to essentially seal the division by winning seven of the next eight games.

Snitker benefited from the MVP-caliber production Freeman provided and the great success NL Rookie of the Year Award-winner Acuna had upon being moved to the leadoff spot after the All-Star break. But Snitker also pushed all of the right buttons with the pitching staff, which was without its only experienced closer for approximately 3 1/2 months. Four of the five relievers who made at least 50 appearances had never experienced a full Major League season.

Mark Bowman covers the Braves for MLB.com.

Acuna's second-half surge nets NL ROY honors

ATLANTA -- If Ronald Acuna Jr. lives up to expectations by collecting a plethora of major awards over the next two decades, he likely will still fondly remember his first, the one he garnered after proving to be one of the most impressive 20-year-olds to grace the Major League scene.

Currently playing in the Japan All-Star Series, Acuna awoke early Tuesday morning to learn he had been named National League Rookie of the Year. The announcement, which was made Monday night in the United States, provided the Braves phenom another chance to celebrate and reflect on what was truly a memorable year.

"I'm just flattered. I'm so honored to receive this award," Acuna said. "My career is just beginning. There are just so many things I need to do to become a better player. I like to take in all the advice from other people to improve every year, to become a better person and a better player."

Acuna, the only player to appear on every ballot, garnered 27 of the 30 first-place votes cast by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America while accumulating 144 points. Nationals outfielder Juan Soto gained two first-place votes and finished second with 89 points. Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler received the other first-place vote and 28 total points. All ballots were cast before the start of the postseason.

Acuna is the first Braves player to win a major postseason award since Craig Kimbrel was named the NL's Rookie of the Year in 2011. The other players in franchise history to be named Rookie of the Year were Rafael Furcal (2000), David Justice (1990), Bob Horner (1978), Earl Williams (1971), Sam Jethroe (1950) and Alvin Dark (1948).

Soto stood as the favorite for this award until Acuna became a down-ballot MVP candidate by producing an incredible second half and helping the Braves win an unexpected NL East title. After the All-Star break, the outfielder ranked second among all NL players with a 3.4 fWAR (Fangraphs' WAR model) and third with 171 weighted runs created plus.

Acuna made his much-anticipated debut April 25 in Cincinnati and tallied his first career home run the next day. The five-tool prospect endured some inevitable growing pains and then missed a month after spraining his left anterior cruciate ligament May 27 at Fenway Park. He altered the mechanics of his swing just before the All-Star break and went on a tear when moved to the leadoff spot immediately after the break.

Validating his standing as MLB Pipeline's second-best prospect entering the season, Acuna exited the season having hit .293 with 26 homers, a .917 OPS (144 park and league adjusted OPS) and a 3.7 fWAR, which matched Soto for the best produced by a NL rookie.

Soto produced very similar numbers, hitting .292 with 22 homers and a .923 OPS (122 OPS+). The 19-year-old's strong candidacy began to be overshadowed by the late final impressions made by Acuna, who grabbed the attention of the baseball world when he homered in five straight games from Aug. 11-14, becoming the youngest player in baseball history to homer in as many as four straight games.

As the Braves won seven of Acuna's first eight games they went from 3 1/2 games back to 1 1/2 games up in the NL East. They also turned a half-game deficit to a two-game lead as they went 12-4 while their young left fielder tallied nine homers and produced a 1.357 OPS from July 31-Aug. 15.

Acuna became the fifth player to tally 26 homers in a season prior to his 21st birthday. He is also one of 10 players, the first since Mike Trout in 2012, to hit at least 25 homers and tally at least 15 stolen bases in a rookie season.

Mark Bowman has covered the Braves for MLB.com since 2001.

Greg Maddux

On this date in 1995, Greg Maddux extends his own record by earning his fourth straight NL Cy Young Award.

Young stars Acuna, Soto bond in tour of Japan

HIROSHIMA, Japan -- Given their ages, their enthusiastic zest for playing baseball and how quickly they climbed through their respective Major League organizations, it's no wonder Ronald Acuna Jr. and Juan Soto have become such good friends.

In fact, it seems the only thing they don't have in common are the teams that pay them, and in that respect, well, maybe they shouldn't be so chummy. After all, over the past year or so, Acuna's Braves and Soto's Nationals have created a healthy rivalry -- the natural byproduct when two teams that play in the same division are good at the same time.

But that's not really how baseball works these days. Camaraderie among opposing ballplayers is common these days. Friendships form early and withstand both the passing of time and the modern-day common practice of players moving from team to team.

It's likely Soto and Acuna, so closely tied in the public eye because of their age and their level of talent, have that type of friendship, even now, in the very early stages of what look to be promising Major League careers for both. And this week, they're not only friends, but also teammates, as participants of the Japan All-Star Series featuring a six-game tournament between Major League All-stars and Samurai Japan.

"We're having a great time playing together on the same team," Acuna said. "We like to inspire each other to be better players."

They have spent most of their time together on this trip, whether it's touring the country on their own or palling around during practice once they get to the ballpark. They clearly have more in common than their raw numbers, though those alone give them plenty to talk about when they're together.

The mutual respect was never as obvious as it was on Tuesday, in the aftermath of the announcement that Acuna was the runaway winner of the National League Rookie of the Year Award. He finished well ahead of the second-place Soto, though offensively, the two were very closely matched.

More than halfway through the Japan trip, the two spoke glowingly of each other, both personally and professionally.

"He's very impressive," Soto said on Tuesday. "I've enjoyed playing with him, and respect how he plays the game. His personality, how he plays ball...he's a good guy. We're good friends."

Acuna, speaking with a roomful of local reporters following the announcement he won the honor, smiled when the topic of the friendship was broached.

"It's always fun to play with Soto," he said. "He's such a great player. It's always fun to watch him play, too. We're having a great opportunity to play together on the same team. We like to inspire each other to become better players."

If they improve upon 2018, look out. Acuna batted .293/.366/.552 with 26 homers over 111 games and went on a second-half tear as a five-tool force on a young, up-and-coming Braves playoff team. The 20-year-old batted .322 with a 1.028 OPS post All-Star break, producing a .328/.409/.634 line with 19 homers from the leadoff spot.

Soto wasn't far behind. He batted .292 with 22 homers over 116 games, having played only eight games above the Class A level when he was called up on May 20. If not for Acuna's second-half surge -- he homered in five straight games from Aug. 11-14 -- it's likely Soto would have had a stronger candidacy to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

Still, Soto's star is bright, and he's still so stunningly young. The games he's currently playing in Japan are his first as a non-teenager -- he turned 20 on Oct. 25.

Soto was effusive in his praise of Acuna, emphasizing that his friend deserved to win the top honor for a rookie, while expressing satisfaction with the season he had, as well.

"He did the job the right way," Soto said of Acuna. "He plays baseball the right way, and he deserves the award. I was happy for him."

Any disappointment to have finished second?

"No, I'm happy," Soto said. "Not just for the votes, but the year I had. Not a lot of players had a year like that. To come through the Minor Leagues and to come far so quickly, I played how I wanted. I played freely, and I'm happy with the season I had."

Alyson Footer is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow her on Twitter @alysonfooter.