While Dominic Smith might have stolen the show on Saturday, hitting a walk-off grand slam to cement the Atlanta Braves comeback against the Kansas City Royals, new manager Walt Weiss's sneaky good ninth inning decisions might have assisted Smith to begin with.
In the ninth inning, with the Braves trailing by two, Weiss made a decision seldom used by his predecessor. A few batters later, he pulled the trigger again, and once again, it paid off.
Pinch-running decisions validating Walt Weiss hiring decision by Braves
Since Matt Olson joined the Braves in 2022, he's played in every single game. However, despite being one of the slowest runners on the team, he was rarely removed late in close games for a pinch-runner. In fact, there have only been 11 instances where Olson did not play a complete game in which he started, and he was only removed four times for a pinch-runner in a high-leverage spot.
Yet, just two days into Weiss's managerial stint, Olson was pulled for a pinch-runner after singling to represent the tying run. This move paid off when Jorge Mateo was able to go first-to third with ease on an RBI single by Mike Yastrzemski.
But Weiss wasn't satisfied with just one pinch-runner in the ninth, as he lifted Yastrzemski, who was a mediocre runner by sprint speed in 2025, for Eli White, who was the eighth-fastest runner in the game last season.
While White didn't need to do anything spectacular on the bases in order for the Braves to win, thanks to Smith hitting the walk-off grand slam, he was the winning run on third, and a struggling Carlos Estevez on the mound. With White's speed, there's a chance Estevez was more hesitant when husing his slider that he throws more than 30% of the time.
Pinch-running decisions, of course, are just a small part of the game, but Weiss's decisions to use two in the ninth shows a clear difference in decision making, and should put away any doubts that Weiss is a carbon copy of Brian Snitker.