I’m not sure everyone in Braves Country appreciates how fortunate we are to have Alex Anthopoulos as manager of the Atlanta Braves.
Anthopoulos joined the organization as general manager in November 2017, at a depressing time: former general manager John Coppolella had been pushed out after MLB determined he had flagrantly broken various rules pertaining to the international free agent signing procedure.
He was later banned from baseball for the infractions and his unwillingness to cooperate with investigators, only being reinstated in January of 2023 ($) (but still not working in the sport). The organization, fresh off of four straight losing seasons where they finished a combined 91.5 games back in the NL East and saw manager Fredi Gonzalez fired, was punished rather harshly by MLB for Coppolella’s missteps, including having 13 of their international signees granted free agency, serious and strict restrictions placed on international signings for the next three seasons, and a forfeiture of their 3rd round pick in the upcoming MLB Draft.
All factors which made the Atlanta job less appealing, in theory.
It was a big deal to hire Anthopoulos
But Anthopoulos came to Atlanta.
And understand this: Alex Anthopoulos didn’t have to come to Atlanta. He was coming off of a successful stretch as GM of the Toronto Blue Jays, where he won the 2015 Executive of the Year award from the Sporting News, as voted on by his peers. He voluntarily declined a contract extension and stepped down, for reasons still unknown, and was working as the vice president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers at the time. His family reportedly liked living in Los Angeles, and Anthopoulos later admitted “I didn’t have any aspirations or desire to leave L.A.”
But he agreed to come to Atlanta, signing a four year contract in November of 2017. Anthopoulos said at the time that he was optimistic about the direction of the franchise despite MLB’s sanctions, citing the young talent both on the major league roster (Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuña Jr) and in the farm system.
So what changed?
The organization sold itself.
“I told my wife, ‘This is as good a job as I’m ever going to be able to find. I’d love to get it,'” Anthopoulos said. “That two-week wait, I was on pins and needles a little bit. I tried to play it cool, but it was tough. It was tough. I was still trying to do my work in L.A. and can’t say enough about them being able to support me, but I can’t say enough about the upside here and what we’re ultimately going to be.”
And it worked.
Anthopoulos quickly got to work, building a roster that went on to win the NL East in 2018 (and hasn’t lost it since) and a World Series championship in 2021.
Atlanta was so confident in what he’d done early in his tenure that they extended his contract prior to the 2020 season, promoting him to president of baseball operations and keeping him locked up through the 2024 season.
