Atlanta Braves fans were understandably skeptical when the franchise opted to stay in-house and hire manager Walt Weiss. It was fair to wonder whether it was the right move or whether the Braves should've opted for a fresh start.
While ex-skipper Brian Snitker's tenure with Atlanta deserves nothing but respect, there was a level of predictability that fostered frustration throughout the fan base. The fear was that hiring Weiss would continue that head-scratching experience.
While we are only five games and a 3-2 record into the 2026 season, early indications are that Weiss is exactly what the Braves needed.
Walt Weiss Is Exceeding Braves Fans' Expectations
Perhaps the best example is a lineup that is consistently shuffled, giving each player their best chance to make a positive impact. Whether it was Ozzie Albies hitting third and setting the tone with a homer on Opening Day or Dominic Smith's walk-off blast one game later, an early defining trait of this team is a revolving door of contributors.
Credit for this can be given directly to Weiss. He's consistently putting together a different lineup based on matchups. On top of this, he is not hesitating to make pitching changes and build up his bullpen's confidence, which is needed to manage Atlanta's arms as they go through a difficult stretch of 13 games in as many days.
All of this adds up to a fan base that has legitimate excitement for the first time in two seasons despite a myriad of injuries. Braves fans' focus has shifted from a trio of missing starting pitchers and an injured lineup (Jurickson Profar, Ha-Seong Kim, and Sean Murphy, etc.) to excitement around the potential ceiling of this talented group.
Braves fans have reason to feel they have the right leadership in place to weather the storm and once again be a force in the National League. Weiss deserves early flowers for erasing any doubts about his potentially being Snitker 2.0.
In fact, the former manager even admits that his successor was the right pick for the Braves' opening.
“They don't come any better than Walt,” Snitker said on Opening Day, via Daily Independent's Maura Carey. “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.”
As beloved as Snitker was, opting for loyalty over production was never going to work out in the long run, and the Braves would be stuck in mediocrity if they didn't change course. Everything Weiss has done in the first five games of the season tells us this isn't the case under the new manager, and the tone has been perfectly reset.
It seems like the Braves finally have the manager they need, setting the stage for what should be an exciting 2026 campaign.