By: TJ Hartnett

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The offseason has already seen the 2018 Atlanta Braves start to rack up big time hardware, with several Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers being handed out to the National League East Division Champions.

All-Star Nick Markakis, put a nice cap on his Cinderella season by winning both a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger.

This upcoming week could (and should) see even more trophies dished out to members of the Braves; with the Rookie of the Year award and the Manager of the Year award being handed out on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

Ronald Acuna Jr. has stiff competition in the form of Washington Nationals’ stud outfielder Juan Soto, but he has a very good shot of coming home with the award. His case has already been made here in the pages of the Georgia Sports Edition.

Instead, it’s time to advocate for an award for the Braves’ skipper, Brian Snitker.

To me, this seems like a no-brainer. Snit lead the Braves to a nearly double-digit division win, besting the heavily favored Nats, as well as a stacked New York Mets pitching rotation and a young and hungry Philadelphia Phillies team that was in contention until the very end of the season.

The Braves were not picked to be in the playoff hunt at all, let alone topping the other teams in the NL East. In fact, the Braves probably should have finished in third place.

Instead, Atlanta kicked off the 2018 season with a comeback, walk-off victory against the rival Phillies and took control of the East before the month was out.

Teams with those kinds of low expectations and surprising performances will often get a good amount of love for their manager for leading them to play above their level. It stands to reason that Snitker should receive votes for just that very reason.

Comparing his team’s success with that of the other two MOTY finalists’ successes, the same argument holds up.

Bud Black’s Colorado Rockies may have also surprised some folks in the National League West, but they were not expected to win a division with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the mix. While they made it exciting by forcing a game 163, they settled for a Wild Card slot.

Craig Counsell’s Milwaukee Brewers did manage to win their division in yet another thrilling game 163, expectations for the Brew Crew were high. The acquisitions of Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich signaled to the world that Milwaukee was going for it; playoffs or bust.

So, while they were somewhat of an underdog squad to the Chicago Cubs, the Brewers had set their sights on making a postseason run.

Despite what anyone from the Braves’ front office might have you believe, the success Atlanta enjoyed was not expected.

Snit’s deservedness goes behind his team’s record (which, admittedly, is barely in his hands anyway). The old cliché about “player’s managers” is that players are always talking about how they love playing for their guy. It’s believable with Snit. Freddie Freeman was more than vocal about keeping Snitker on as manager after he took over for Fredi Gonzalez.

More recently, watch Snitker’s postgame interview after Miami Marlins’ pitcher Jose Urena blatantly went after Acuna’s hand with a fastball.

The words and fervor were that of a man that any baseball player would go into battle for. Watch Snitker speak of his pride for his guys after they clinched the division in September. Of course, they want to play for him.

Following the Braves season, the MOTY choice is clear and on Tuesday we’ll find out if the BBWAA has been paying attention.