MLB WORLD SERIES: ASTROS VS BRAVES

November 2, 2021

Brian Snitker

Minute Maid Park

Atlanta Braves

Postgame 6 Press Conference

Atlanta - 7, Houston - 0

Q. Snit, you've dreamt about this forever. What did it feel like?

BRIAN SNITKER: Surreal. I spent the whole game not letting myself, especially when we scored runs, not letting myself get ahead of things because knowing how quickly things can change.

It's really, really good. Really good. Yeah, my wildest dreams, I never thought I'd be sitting up here talking to you guys.

Q. Freddie said he's going to give you the ball -- or has he already given you the ball?

BRIAN SNITKER: No, I haven't seen anybody. It's chaos when that happened.

Q. What are you going to do with it, and what will that memento mean to you?

BRIAN SNITKER: I'll put it right there in my office, absolutely. God bless him if he does. That's awesome.

Q. Last thing about Freddie. He, like you, is a Braves lifer. What has he symbolized to this organization? What has he meant as a leader?

BRIAN SNITKER: He's everything the Braves epitomize. When you talk about a Braves type player, it's Freddie Freeman, how he comes to play every day, what he does in our community, the person he is, the emphasis he has on all of his teammates, me in particular.

I don't know what I'd do without him, quite honestly. He's my rock too. I go to him with things. I've been with him since the first day he came here in the Big Leagues. He's everything that the Braves stand for.

Q. Brian, there obviously was so many instances throughout your career with ups and downs and I guess sort of moments when you could have just stopped chasing this. I'm just curious, what kept pushing you? What kept pushing you to do this?

BRIAN SNITKER: Yeah, there were. There were a bunch of different times. I don't know, I think this is kind of -- guys that are in baseball, that's what we do. We fight through adversities. We grind. After a while, it's what you do. It's not who you are, it's what you do.

Probably you can't visualize doing anything else. You just keep fighting the fight and grinding through because you never know -- like I said, people in the Minor Leagues, you never know what could happen. It happened to me. I got an opportunity. There's a lot of guys out there, my same type thing who have been through a lot and put their families through a lot, and not everybody gets it. I was blessed enough to get an opportunity.

Q. Is there a moment in your career that you find yourself looking back on today?

BRIAN SNITKER: Yeah, there's a bunch of them. When I sit and reflect and just everything that you go through. I've had a lot of moments that I'll probably look back on.

Q. When Max got stepped on in the first inning, what was your thought there? Just talk about his response after that.

BRIAN SNITKER: That was scary. I was like, oh -- you know, it was very scary, really, because I couldn't tell. I was just glad when he got up and threw that everything was good. Then he had a really stressful inning after that. I was just kind of wondering what that was going to take, that whole incident would take out of him, and he rebounded and did a great job obviously.

Yeah, that was a scary moment right there, especially after what happened to Charlie and all. So I was really glad that he was able to go on.

Q. The list of managers who have led the Atlanta Braves to the world championship now consists of Bobby Cox and Brian Snitker. I'm just wondering what comes to mind when you hear that list?

BRIAN SNITKER: Gosh, that's another surreal moment, quite honestly, when you put it like that. Yeah, I can't wait to take that trophy back and show him either.

I'm honored, blessed to be able to sit here in front of you guys as a world champion. Like I say, it's something you dream about, but I don't know that you ever feel like it's going to be a reality, honestly.

Q. I know you haven't combed through every trade deadline in MLB history, but is it safe to say this one is about the best as it gets?

BRIAN SNITKER: It's the best I've experienced. Although, getting into the division a few years ago, he dropped three pretty good relievers on me at the trade deadline. But overall, in my experience, this is probably the best I ever witnessed and how a general manager went after this, after everything that happened here, I can't say enough about Alex.

I always say the only thing he's guilty of is he never stops trying to make this thing better. He just have a tireless worker, he and his staff, trying to make this club better all the time. He's never going to cash the chips in ever. If there's ever slightly a chance or a glimmer of hope, he's going to go out and go for it.

Q. Have you had a chance to speak with Alex since the end of the game --

BRIAN SNITKER: Yeah, I have.

Q. -- and when did you find out he apparently tested positive --

BRIAN SNITKER: I FaceTimed with him just to congratulate him, he the same. I hate that he's not here because he's such a big part of this the last few years.

Q. When did he tell you that he had tested positive?

BRIAN SNITKER: I don't even remember. I just remember FaceTiming him today because he wasn't there. He was sitting there on -- I talk to him every day, but I wish he could have been here.

Q. And the other thing, Soler's ball goes out of the stadium, what's going through your mind?

BRIAN SNITKER: That was -- well, we had one go out a couple days ago, and just all I was thinking about was now we've got to hold this lead because we couldn't a couple days ago.

But he's been swinging the bat so good. This whole World Series, he's had some -- even just the walks he was taking were really big.

Q. Snit, we don't know what the off-season will bring, but can you imagine Freeman wearing another uniform?

BRIAN SNITKER: Personally, no. I think just Freddie Freeman is an Atlanta Brave. You never know, though. There's been bigger things that have happened in my career, but can I imagine it? No. Do I hope he signs back here? Absolutely.

But you never know in this business what's going to happen.

Q. Congratulations. I wanted to ask you, so many great stories on this team. You seem to epitomize lots of them as well. I wonder if you could take a moment to talk about the highs and lows and the ultimate achievement of your reliever Matzek and what he's gone through?

BRIAN SNITKER: What a story that is. That's a book waiting to happen too. Just where he's come and how he's fought back. I knew a little bit. Walt had him in Colorado, so I got a little insight when he had him there. Then what he fought through and went back to the independent leagues, and I credit our scouting staff that recognized that and signed him.

It's an amazing story. You talk about perseverance and gutting through things and adversity, he embodies all of that. Just to be where he was in this postseason, it's amazing how he's allowed himself to do that and come back and what he's meant for our club.

Q. Have you as his manager had some really interesting -- but personal moments with him where he's talked about the struggles?

BRIAN SNITKER: No, that's not something I'd ask somebody about, quite honestly. I just know the guy. I don't pester those guys or whatever and dig into their personal lives. I think probably he likes me because the phone rings and his name's on the other end of the line.

Q. Was there a moment in the postseason where you thought we can do this?

BRIAN SNITKER: Yeah, there was. I don't know specifically, but I think after we got through the first round and beat Milwaukee because I knew what a challenge that was going to be with their pitching. We won that.

Then you win a tough game, some close games like we did in Atlanta in the NLCS, and then it's like, you know what, I think we can pull this off. We're pretty good. We're peaking at the right time. Eddie got hot. The pitching was really good. And I did, I honestly thought and said, you know what, we can pull this off, yeah.

Q. Ozzie and Dansby, all these guys were on the backfields in Orlando, the Minor League side five years ago. When you watched them that young, this group, did you sense this could be a special group that had this potential?

BRIAN SNITKER: It is, yeah, and they have been, and they are a special group. Austin, Ozzie, Dansby, Ronald -- I remember watching him when I first got this job and I went to the instructional league and seeing him, like who's that kid? A lot of these guys, just how they've matured and grown and how mature they were.

Like I say, they had great work ethics and baseball IQ for as long as we've had them. It is, it's a special group. As witnessed it, they're world champions.

Q. In this Game 6, the pitchers did so well against the best scoring team in the league. How big was the challenge, and how much of this win goes to the pitching staff starting with Max?

BRIAN SNITKER: I think the whole, this whole World Series, world championship, you can't say enough about our pitching. And the analytics staff, the game planning that these guys go through with the pitching coaches and Sal and all them. The young guys that we have that are tirelessly working towards that.

Good for us that they all were like throwing their best baseball all year, that whole bullpen. I don't think Will gave up a run the entire postseason. Matzek was just spectacular, Minter, Luke Jackson, all them guys that did what they did.

That's quite a -- we knew going in that was going to be an unbelievable challenge with this club and how they are offensively.