Fredi Gonzalez: Best Year as Atlanta Braves Manager?

When the Atlanta Braves fired General Manager Frank Wren in September, fans expected that Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez would be the next domino to fall.

As manager, Fredi Gonzalez has led the Atlanta Braves to the postseason twice (albeit one of the postseason appearances was a controversial loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the inaugural 2012 Wild Card play-in game), despite having teams that possessed star power, run scoring ability, and effective pitching.

Since Fredi Gonzalez took over for Bobby Cox in 2011, the Atlanta Braves have consistently undershot expectations — never achieving what the team was truly capable of accomplishing. Under Gonzalez’s administration, the Braves have suffered through two catastrophic September’s. September of 2011 saw them lose an 8.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card standings and miss out on the playoffs on the final day of the season. In September of 2014, the Atlanta Braves squandered another opportunity to make the postseason, going 7-18 in the month and led to the eventual firing of GM Frank Wren.

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Former Braves manager Bobby Cox groomed Fredi Gonzalez for the position, and even after the firing of Wren, Cox (who is now consults for organization) and President John Schuerholz saved Gonzalez’s position, arguing that the team’s performance was a product of its composition.

Before this season, the Atlanta Braves under Fredi Gonzalez were prone to striking out (last season the Braves struck out 8.45 times per game) and had to use the long-ball to manufacture runs. When Gonzalez was manager of the Florida Marlins from 2007-2010, he led his team to two consecutive winning seasons despite the lowest payroll in the MLB.

“This season is a testament to Fredi Gonzalez’s ability to put a competitive team on the field, despite the lack of a perceived star player and a power threat at the plate.”

The Marlin teams that Fredi Gonzalez managed thrived by playing small-ball and making consistent contact at the plate. Gonzalez’s Braves teams during his first four years were the complete opposite, putting Gonzalez in an uncomfortable place as the Atlanta Braves manager.

The 2015 rendition of the Atlanta Braves are more akin to the Marlins teams Gonzalez managed from 2007-2010. While last season the Braves were 27th in the league in strikeouts, this season the Braves are third in league at 6.8 per game.

Despite new President of Baseball Operations John Hart’s so-called “reboot” of the club this past offseason and the low expectations entering the season, Gonzalez has somehow MacGyver’d a team of unknown and unheralded players into an over-achieving and competitive team.

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The Atlanta Braves enter Thursday’s series with the Colorado Rockies with a 42-43 record and are only 4.5 games behind NL East leading Washington. Not many Braves fans (myself included) expected the team to remain in contention into the month of July. This season is a testament to Fredi Gonzalez’s ability to put a competitive team on the field, despite the lack of a perceived star player and a power threat at the plate.

Even with the star power of Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, Melvin Upton Jr., and Craig Kimbrel on the Braves roster, Fredi Gonzalez’s past body of work is not nearly as impressive as the job he has done with the Atlanta Braves this summer. The team’s strike-out rate has significantly diminished, and the their offensive output has increased. They are in a place to surprise the baseball world and compete with the lofty Washington Nationals for the division crown in a season where they seemed destined for the cellar of the division.

Though it is possible that Fredi Gonzalez is just a lame duck manager and the Atlanta Braves are riding out the last year of his contract only to sign another manager next year, the 2015 season is by far his best at the helm, and Braves fans and pundits alike should admire the job he has done. In my mind, Gonzalez is exorcising past demons to make a case for why he should not only remain manager of the Atlanta Braves, but is a part of their bright future.

Next: Atlanta Braves Finish 1st Half With 4 Games at Coors Field

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