ATLANTA (AP) — As Walt Weiss approached his first game as manager of the Braves, he couldn't help but think of those who held the seat before him.
There weren't many over the past 30 years, after all.
“It's a little overwhelming,” Weiss said after the Braves' 6-0 win over the Royals on Friday night. "I don't take this responsibility lightly. Sitting in the seat that I'm in with this uniform on is really, really special, and there will never be a day that I'm in that seat that I take it for granted.”
Weiss was hired in November as the successor to Brian Snitker, the well-liked manager that led the Braves to a 2021 World Series title. Fredi Gonzalez held the position from 2010-16, and Bobby Cox was manager for the 20 years before (1990-2010).
Weiss is familiar with all of the above.
He played under Cox during his final three seasons of a 14-year professional career. In 2017, after a four-year stint as manager of the Rockies, Weiss returned to Atlanta as the Braves' bench coach, where he served as Snitker's right-hand man for eight years.
“They don't come any better than Walt,” Snitker said during an in-game interview in the BravesVision TV booth. “Every offseason when his name would come up as a managerial candidate, I'd call him. I'd be panicked because he's such a great baseball guy, a good person. He's going to do a great job here.”
The season opener was evidence that the Weiss era in Atlanta is welcomed by the team with open arms. Pitcher Chris Sale, who shut out the Royals for six innings and notched six strikeouts, said the team is ready to fight for the new manager.
“Who he is, what he means to this organization, but especially the guys in the clubhouse — man, like we really enjoy fighting for him, because we know he's fighting for us. It was really special," Sale said, adding that the team did a "nice little fun thing” in the clubhouse for him. Sale kept any detail of a passing of the torch celebration close to the vest, but Weiss revealed a little more.
“They got this thing, when the player of the game — I wasn't player of the game, that was Sale — but they let me take the putt,” Weiss said. “It's probably about a 30, 40 footer. And, you know, there's a lot of hootin' and hollerin' and stuff on the line. I got to do the player of the game putt, and they gave me a nice little gift for my first win.”
Weiss missed the putt, but overall, it was a sweet night for the new manager of the Braves, who secured a win and put any concern of another 0-7 start to rest.
“It's just good to put that narrative behind us."
Added Weiss with a smile: “It's nice to be 1-0.”
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