Die hard Braves fans have to feel like they were snubbed by voters at the end of the year. Austin Riley didn’t even finish top-three in NL MVP voting. Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, and Fernando Tatis Jr. are the finalists. Brian Snitker also didn’t finish top-three in NL Manager of the Year voting. Mike Shildt, Craig Counsell, and Gabe Kapler are the finalists. However, I can understand why those two finished just outside of the top-three. What I can’t fathom is how Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos didn’t finish in the top-three for the Executive of the Year award.
Farhan Zaidi, Giants pres. of baseball ops, won MLB Executive of the Year, as voted by his peers. Each team had one vote that was cast before the postseason, hence the Braves’ playoff run wasn’t a factor. The Rays’ Erik Neander was runner-up and Brewers’ David Stearns was third.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) November 9, 2021
Riley was unbelievable, but Soto, Tatis, and Harper were slightly better. Snitker managed to keep his team together enough to make the postseason and eventually win the World Series, but since it’s a regular season award, it makes some sense. Anthopoulos, on the other hand, should have been recognized by his peers just for making the playoffs.
Without his trade deadline acquisitions, the Braves wouldn’t have sniffed the postseason. On top of that, he gave up next to nothing to acquire Jorge Soler, Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, and Adam Duvall. Comparatively, GMs across the league overpaid for players who didn’t make a tenth of the impact.
But at the end of the day, I’m not sure any of it matters. The players and all of Braves Country got what they’ve been searching for since 1995. I think they’d trade all the individual awards in the world for that moment.
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