Cox throws himself out for good

Years from now, one will look back on being an Atlanta Braves fanatic and, rightfully, reserve a dear spot for a man who put baseball over everything, Bobby Cox. Though Cox has not spent his entire managerial career with the Atlanta Braves, his position as the Braves manager will forever be synonymous.

After a brief career as a player with the New York Yankees, notably alongside hall of famer Mickey Mantle; Cox was hired by the same organization to coach the Syracuse Chief’s in 1976. After seven years coaching in the minors, Cox was hired by the struggling Atlanta Braves in 1978 but was consequently fired four years later, for not improving the club’s winning percentages. A year later, Cox moved his managing career to Toronto, briefly, before coming back to the Braves as the General Manager.

As the GM for Atlanta, Cox worked tirelessly in the farm system to locate talent that would help the club overcome struggles in the late eighties. David Justice, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz, just to note a few, and of course the drafting of Chipper Jones in the 1990 draft all came as a result of Cox’s reign as the GM.

In 1990, Cox fired Russ Nixon and appointed himself as manager, a phenomenal decision that implemented a staple in an organization that had encountered its ups and downs, but primarily downs. In the 1991 season the Braves finally overcame their struggles, notoriously, going from worst to first place in their division and onto their first World Series appearance since 1958. The Braves lost to the Minnesota Twins, but instantly built a dynasty that dubbed the club “the team of the 90’s.”

With “the team of the 90s,” Cox led the Atlanta Braves to fourteen straight division titles, five National League pennants and one World Series Championship in 1995.

After twenty nine years of managing professional baseball, Bobby Cox has decided to walk away from the game he eats, breathes and sleeps but ultimately, loves. In 2007, Cox accumulated the most wins of any prior Braves manager, and in 2009 followed that with his two thousandth win as an Atlanta Brave, the fourth manager in baseball history to accomplish such a feat with one ball club. Only three managers in baseball history have more wins than Cox’s 2, 489 (through September 7^th), Connie Mack, John McGraw and Tony LaRussa.

Though Bobby Cox has won manager of the year four times, (’85, ’91, ’04, ’05), this article would be unfit if it were not to mention Cox’s notorious reputation for getting ejected from baseball games. Currently Cox holds the all time record for ejections by a player or coach, passing New York Giant’s Manager John McGraw in 2007, with his 132^nd ejection. Yet, one thing can be said of these ejections, Cox would rather have himself ejected from the game than any of his players, he will take the ejection and the fine, as long as his players stay on the field. A player’s manager some would say. Cox is the only manager/player to ever get tossed from a World Series game, twice, ’92 and ’96. Yet one must argue, that the patience, and father like figure that Cox maintains with every ball player he manages is deep and heartfelt. Cox is not just an angry old man at 69 years old who enjoys getting tossed from games, he is a dedicated man, who believes in every player that accompanies him in the clubhouse.

Contributed

In 2010 Bobby Cox, 69, will leave the dugout, willingly, forever. Forever is a tough word to swallow as a Braves fan. However, for the last time in a regular season game on Oct. 3^rd, Cox will try to lead his Braves to one final playoff run, but will have to fight off the persistent Philadelphia Phillies to do so.

To say Cox will be missed is an understatement of mass proportions, not only will Atlanta and every Braves fan nation wide miss Bobby Cox, but the game of baseball will miss him. Though Cox will be involved in the Braves organization in the future years, it will be unseen, back to the farm system to find talent he will go. Controversy aside, Cox will stand, at the seasons end, atop of that home dugout in Atlanta as one of the greatest managers ever to coach professional baseball, a player’s manager. Patient. Consistent. Honest. So, salute Cox as the season winds down and football becomes more dominant on television than the national pastime. Here’s to you Bobby Cox, you will be missed, but never forgotten.