Braves manager Brian Snitker smiles 1 day after being hit below the belt by a foul ball
By CHARLES ODUM
Posted 7/4/24
Atlanta manager Brian Snitker could laugh a day after he got hit below the belt by a foul liner off Ozzie Albies’ bat in the Braves’ 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants. The sharply hit foul …
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Need to set up your free e-Newspaper all-access account? click here.
Non-subscribers
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Register to comment
Click here create a free account for posting comments.
Note that free accounts do not include access to premium content on this site.
I am anchor
Braves manager Brian Snitker smiles 1 day after being hit below the belt by a foul ball
Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker watches from the dugout before the team's baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Posted
By CHARLES ODUM
ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta manager Brian Snitker could laugh Thursday about being hit below the belt by a foul liner off Ozzie Albies' bat in the Braves' 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night.
The sharply hit foul ball took one hop and reached Snitker so quickly in the fifth inning he didn't have time to defend himself. But even in the moment, the 68-year-old manager smiled instead of showing any hint of pain.
And, to answer the obvious question, Snitker doesn't wear a protective cup.
“Without protection? Yeah, I know,” Snitker said, adding he had received multiple text messages about the incident and how he smiled instead of bending over in pain.
“Well, it hit me right below the belt,” he said. “... OK, a little high.”
Snitker said he wasn't sore when he woke up Thursday but acknowledged he “tensed up” and felt some discomfort during the game. He was able to smile because the ball barely missed hitting him in a more sensitive area.
Snitker said he intentionally avoided TV Thursday morning “because I said I’m not going to watch this thing.” Snitker's son, Troy, who's on the Houston Astros' coaching staff, made sure the replay made it to his father.
“My son sent me a video of it,” Snitker said before Thursday night's game against the Giants.
Albies' at-bat ended with a fly ball to center field. The Braves second baseman immediately walked up to Snitker when returning to the dugout.
“He felt worse than me,” Snitker said. “He’s such a good kid.”
Snitker was a longtime third base coach before becoming Atlanta's manager in 2016 and leading the Braves to six consecutive NL East championships and the 2021 World Series title. The third base coaching box can also be a dangerous place, and Snitker said he suffered a broken wrist and other injuries when hit by foul balls there.
Snitker said he had another reason to smile immediately after avoiding injury on Wednesday night.
Braves first baseman Matt Olson told Snitker he likely would have been hit by the foul ball if Snitker, standing on the dugout steps, had not been in the way.
“So I said, ‘Well, I’m a hell of a lot easier to replace than he is,’” Snitker said. “So I’m glad it hit me.”