Braves Hire Bench Coach Walt Weiss as New Manager

Braves Hire Walt Weiss as New Manager

Weiss, 61, is a native of Tuxedo, NY. He had a 14-year playing career as a shortstop, playing for four teams from 1987 to 2000. He was the 1988 American League Rookie of the Year for the Oakland Athletics, largely thanks to his standout defense. Weiss eventually finished up with the Braves from 1998 onward, making the All-Star team for the first and only time in his career in his first year with Atlanta.

This will not be Weiss’s first managerial gig, as he managed the Colorado Rockies from 2013 to 2016. In that time, he compiled a record of 283-365, which comes out to a .437 winning percentage. The Rockies did not make the postseason during his tenure.

The Braves later brought on Weiss as their bench coach ahead of the 2018 season. Joining Snitker in the dugout, Atlanta went on a run to the World Series in 2021 after a heartbreaking NLCS loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers a year prior. In that Fall Classic, the Braves knocked off the favored Houston Astros in six games for their first championship in 1995, and their second overall in Atlanta.

Atlanta will hope that Weiss is a natural fit, considering his familiarity with the current squad and his stature as a former Brave. The team is coming off a disappointing season. They missed the postseason for the first time since 2017 after they struggled out of the gate, finishing with a 76-86 record. That likely spurred Snitker’s decision to step down as manager, but he is remaining with the team in an advisory role.