Bobby Cox
Bobby Cox | |
---|---|
Third baseman / Manager | |
Born: Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. | May 21, 1941|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 14, 1968, for the New York Yankees | |
Last MLB appearance | |
October 1, 1969, for the New York Yankees | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .225 |
Home runs | 9 |
Runs batted in | 58 |
Managerial record | 2,504–2,001 |
Winning % | .556 |
Teams | |
As player
As manager As coach | |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Member of the National | |
Baseball Hall of Fame | |
Induction | 2014 |
Vote | 100% |
Election method | Expansion Era Committee |
Robert Joe Cox (born May 21, 1941) is an American former professional
Cox first managed the Braves from 1978 to 1981, and then managed the Blue Jays from 1982 to 1985. He rejoined the Braves in 1986 as a general manager. He moved back to the manager's role during the 1990 season and stayed there until his retirement following the 2010 season. Cox led the Atlanta Braves to the World Series championship in 1995. The Braves have since retired No. 6 in his honor. Cox holds the all-time record for ejections in MLB with 158 (plus an additional three post-season ejections[1]), a record previously held by John McGraw.[2] He also leads the league in playoff appearances as manager with sixteen, and he was the first since Casey Stengel to have qualified for the postseason ten times (four managers have since followed him). He became the first manager to exceed three consecutive appearances in the League Championship Series, doing so by qualifying for the National League Championship Series from 1991 to 1999 (excluding 1994, which had no NLCS).[3]
Playing career
As a player, Cox originally signed with the
Managerial career
Prior to managing
Prior to managing in the States, Cox played from 1967 to 1970 for the Cardenales de Lara and Leones del Caracas clubs of the Venezuelan Winter League.[4] He later managed the Cardenales during three consecutive seasons from 1974–75 through 1976–77.[5] In between, he coached and managed in the Yankees minor league system.
New York Yankees farm system
Cox began his managerial career in the Yankees
Atlanta Braves (1978–1981)
Cox replaced
Toronto Blue Jays (1982–1985)
Cox joined the Toronto Blue Jays in 1982, who steadily improved over the four years of his management. Cito Gaston was brought in as a coach for the team because of Cox, and Gaston would be named manager of the Jays years later. In 1985, Cox's fourth season with the club, the Blue Jays finished in first place in the American League East. That season, the American League Championship Series was expanded to a best-of-seven format after 16 seasons of a best-of-five format. This change ultimately made the difference when Cox's Blue Jays became only the fifth team to lose a playoff series after leading three games to one to the Kansas City Royals, with the decision by Dick Howser to counter Cox's platooning by starting a right-handed pitcher before going with left-handed relievers in the middle innings proving key. He finished his stint as manager with a record of 355 wins and 292 losses for his regular season record. Cox left to return to Atlanta as a general manager, and he was replaced in Toronto by Jimy Williams.[7][8]
Second stint with the Atlanta Braves (1986–2010)
General manager
After the Blue Jays' elimination, Cox returned to the Braves as general manager. After going through two managers over the course of less than five years with disastrous results in attendance and outlook, Cox fired Russ Nixon in June 1990 and named himself field manager. Cox had spent the prior four seasons accumulating talented players, including Tom Glavine, Steve Avery, John Smoltz, Ron Gant, and David Justice. He was also responsible for drafting Chipper Jones with the first overall pick in the 1990 draft.[9] After the season, he handed the general manager's post to Kansas City Royals general manager John Schuerholz.
1991
In 1991, the Braves, along with the Minnesota Twins, became the first teams to go from last place to first place from one year to the next. The two teams met in the 1991 World Series, which the Twins won in seven games. It was the second World Series in which the home team won every game. The first was in 1987 when the Twins defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
1992–93
In 1992, Cox's Braves held a 3–1 lead in the National League Championship Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates before losing Games 5 and 6, although they did win Game 7 on Francisco Cabrera's ninth-inning, two-out, pinch-hit, two-run single. They went on to lose the World Series to his former club the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1993, the Braves had the best record in baseball after a pennant race where they overcame a ten-game deficit in August to beat the San Francisco Giants. By going 51–17 over the last two and a half months of the season, they won the division by a game. However, they lost the National League Championship Series in six games to the Philadelphia Phillies.
1995–96
In 1995, the Atlanta Braves won Cox's only World Series championship as a manager, over the Cleveland Indians. Their division title in 1995 marked the first time since 1989 that neither Pennsylvania team won the National League East.
In May 1995, Cox was arrested on simple battery charge after his wife called police and alleged Cox struck her. She retracted the statement the following day, and the charges were dropped after the couple attended court-ordered counseling.[10]
In 1996, the Braves again won the division title. After sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the division series, the Braves' pitching fell behind the St. Louis Cardinals, three games to one in the 1996. Facing elimination, the Braves offense outscored the Cardinals 33–1 over the final three games and won the pennant. Cox became the only manager in history to lose a series leading three games to one and win a series trailing three games to one.[11] The scoring continued into the first two games against the New York Yankees as the Braves took a two games to none lead by winning with scores of 12–1 and 4–0 in the World Series. In game four, the Braves led 6–0 in the fourth inning, but the Yankees came from behind. Jim Leyritz homered to tie the game, and the Yankees tied the series with a win in 11 innings, 8–6. The Yankees would ultimately win in six games. Cox was ejected in Game 6; he was the most recent person to be ejected in a World Series game until Dave Martinez in 2019 in Game 6 against the Houston Astros.
1997–2001
The Braves lost to the Florida Marlins in the 1997 NLCS and the San Diego Padres in the 1998 NLCS. The Braves made it back to the World Series in 1999, but lost to the defending World Series Champion New York Yankees in four straight games. Cox's 2001 team won the division title and upset the favored Houston Astros in three straight games in the division series. However, the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Braves in five games in the NLCS.
One of Cox's memorable games as manager of the Braves during this period came on September 21, 2001, when they played rival New York Mets in the first major professional sporting event played in New York City since the 9/11 attacks.
In 2001, he tied a record held by John McGraw, Bill Dahlen and Paul Richards by being ejected from eleven games in a single season.[12]
2002–2010
Cox's Braves did not advance past the first round of the playoffs in any of their last five appearances. In 2002, the Braves won 101 games and led the
Managerial record
Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
ATL | 1978 | 162 | 69 | 93 | .426 | 6th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
ATL | 1979 | 160 | 66 | 94 | .413 | 6th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
ATL | 1980 | 161 | 81 | 80 | .503 | 4th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
ATL | 1981 | 54 | 25 | 29 | .463 | 4th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
52 | 25 | 27 | .481 | 5th in NL West | ||||||
TOR | 1982 | 162 | 78 | 84 | .481 | 6th in AL East | – | – | – | – |
TOR | 1983 | 162 | 89 | 73 | .549 | 4th in AL East | – | – | – | – |
TOR | 1984 | 162 | 89 | 73 | .549 | 2nd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
TOR | 1985 | 161 | 99 | 62 | .615 | 1st in AL East | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost ALCS (KC) |
TOR total | 647 | 355 | 292 | .549 | 3 | 4 | .429 | |||
ATL | 1990 | 97 | 40 | 57 | .412 | 6th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
ATL | 1991 | 162 | 94 | 68 | .580 | 1st in NL West | 7 | 7 | .500 | Lost World Series (MIN) |
ATL | 1992 | 162 | 98 | 64 | .605 | 1st in NL West | 6 | 7 | .462 | Lost World Series (TOR) |
ATL | 1993 | 162 | 104 | 58 | .642 | 1st in NL West | 2 | 4 | .333 | Lost NLCS (PHI) |
ATL | 1994 | 114 | 68 | 46 | .596 | 2nd in NL East | – | – | – | – |
ATL | 1995 | 144 | 90 | 54 | .625 | 1st in NL East | 11 | 3 | .786 | Won World Series (CLE) |
ATL | 1996 | 162 | 96 | 66 | .593 | 1st in NL East | 9 | 7 | .563 | Lost World Series (NYY) |
ATL | 1997 | 162 | 101 | 61 | .623 | 1st in NL East | 5 | 4 | .556 | Lost NLCS (FLA) |
ATL | 1998 | 162 | 106 | 56 | .654 | 1st in NL East | 5 | 4 | .556 | Lost NLCS (SD) |
ATL | 1999 | 162 | 103 | 59 | .636 | 1st in NL East | 7 | 7 | .500 | Lost World Series (NYY) |
ATL | 2000 | 162 | 95 | 67 | .586 | 1st in NL East | 0 | 3 | .000 | Lost NLDS (STL) |
ATL | 2001 | 162 | 88 | 74 | .543 | 1st in NL East | 4 | 4 | .500 | Lost NLCS (ARI) |
ATL | 2002 | 160 | 101 | 59 | .631 | 1st in NL East | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost NLDS (SF) |
ATL | 2003 | 162 | 101 | 61 | .623 | 1st in NL East | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost NLDS (CHC) |
ATL | 2004 | 162 | 96 | 66 | .593 | 1st in NL East | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost NLDS (HOU) |
ATL | 2005 | 162 | 90 | 72 | .556 | 1st in NL East | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost NLDS (HOU) |
ATL | 2006 | 162 | 79 | 83 | .488 | 3rd in NL East | – | – | – | – |
ATL | 2007 | 162 | 84 | 78 | .519 | 3rd in NL East | – | – | – | – |
ATL | 2008 | 162 | 72 | 90 | .444 | 4th in NL East | – | – | – | – |
ATL | 2009 | 162 | 86 | 76 | .531 | 3rd in NL East | – | – | – | – |
ATL | 2010 | 162 | 91 | 71 | .562 | 2nd in NL East | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost NLDS (SF) |
ATL total | 3858 | 2149 | 1709 | .557 | 64 | 65 | .496 | |||
Total[7] | 4505 | 2504 | 2001 | .556 | 67 | 69 | .493 |
Personal life
Bobby Cox is married to Pamela and has eight children.[14]
One day after participating in the
Accomplishments
Cox has been named Manager of the Year four times (1985, 1991, 2004, 2005) and is one of only four managers to have won the award in both the American and National League. He and Kevin Cash are the only managers to have won the award in consecutive years. Cox has also been named Manager of the Year by The Sporting News eight times (1985, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005).
On May 12, 2007, Cox passed
On September 17, 2010, Cox was ejected for the 158th time in his Major League coaching career during the second inning of a Braves game against the
- "I’m like, ‘What do I do?’ He said, ‘Go have a couple cold beers and get in the cold tub or something and relax. And then you’ll probably have to write a $500 check. Or you can do what I do, write a $10,000 one and tell them when it runs out, let me know'."
Cox is also the only person among all players and managers to be
In 1981, Cox was inducted into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame.[22]
On August 12, 2011, a luncheon was held by the Braves, and Cox was inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame and his number six jersey was retired. Afterward, an on-field ceremony was held that recognized the long-time Braves manager prior to the scheduled game versus the Chicago Cubs.[23][24]
Cox was unanimously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the 16-member Veterans Committee on December 9, 2013. The ceremony was held on July 27, 2014.[25]
Cox was hired on September 22, 2014, to return on a part-time basis to help the Atlanta Braves choose their next general manager and director of player development after the dismissal of general manager Frank Wren and player personnel director Bruce Manno.
In 2019, the International League announced that Cox would be inducted into its Hall of Fame, noting especially his managerial experience with the Chiefs.[26]
See also
References
- ^ Stiglich, Joe (October 8, 2010). "Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox ejected one more time". The Mercury News. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ Ulman, Howard (June 21, 2009). "Green's homer gives Boston 6–5 win over Atlanta". Hartford Courant. Associated Press.
- ^ "Major League Managers".
- ^ Venezuelan League batting statistics
- ISBN 980-6996-02-X
- ^ "Dale Murphy". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f "Bobby Cox". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
- ^ "Bobby Cox and the Blue Jays". December 10, 2013.
- ^ "Chipper Jones". Baseball-Reference.com. April 5, 2007. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ Rys, Rich (June 24, 2008). "Smack My Bitch Up: Major League Baseball's Continuing Domestic Abuse Problem". Deadspin. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ "World Series History: Recaps and Results". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Retrieved April 6, 2007.
- ^ Smith, David (2020). "Ejections Through the Years and the Impact of Expanded Replay" (PDF). Retrosheet. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ "Cox gets one-year extension". ESPN. Associated Press. September 24, 2009.
- ^ a b "Bobby Cox Net Worth: Legendary Braves Manager Hospitalized After Possible Stroke". International Business Times. April 3, 2019.
- ^ "Former Braves manager Bobby Cox attends first game in Atlanta since suffering stroke". CBSSports.com. September 2, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- ^ "Atlanta Braves Managers". Baseball Almanac. Archived from the original on January 19, 2000. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
- ^ Rogers, Carroll (September 25, 2010). "Cox reaches 2,500 wins for career". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on September 27, 2010.
- ^ "Baseball Managers". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
- ^ a b Lake, Thomas (July 26, 2010). "Thumbing his Way back home". Sports Illustrated. Time Inc. p. 49.
- ^ a b "World Series Ejections". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
- ^ "Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees". Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ "Braves to retire Cox's No. 6, add him to Hall". Atlanta Braves. MLB. March 22, 2011. Archived from the original on March 25, 2011. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
- ^ "Cox humbled by entrance into Braves' Hall". Atlanta Braves. MLB. August 12, 2011.
- ^ Goold, Derrick; Hummel, Rick (December 9, 2013). "La Russa, Torre, Cox unanimously elected to Hall". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ "International League Announces 2019 Hall of Fame Class" (PDF). International League. Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 29, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Bobby Cox managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com