When the National Baseball Hall of Fame holds its 2014 induction
ceremony next summer, the event will have a distinctive Atlanta Braves
flavor.
Next month, it is highly expected that former Braves starting pitchers
Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine will be elected to the Hall during their first
elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by a unanimous vote of the
Expansion Era Committee.
Fellow managers Tony LaRussa and Joe Torre were also elected to the
Hall on the same ballot.
Cox led the Braves to 2,149 victories during his 25 years as the skipper of
the Bravos (he also served as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays for four
years, thus bringing his overall winning total to 2,504). He managed the
Braves to 14 consecutive division titles five National League
championships. His 1995 Braves team won the World Series.
It served as no shock when the announcement was made that Coxey
would be enshrined at Cooperstown. Upon hearing the announcement,
he commented that he had goosebumps.
But then, his teams gave us, the fans, goosebumps over the years with a
number of thrilling moments. In a way, it’s hard to imagine that he’s not
still perched at the end of the Braves bench, yelling out “C’mon kid” to his
players as they headed up to bat.
I really respected his integrity and approach to managing the game. And,
as a fan, the things I really enjoyed about following Bobby Cox and his
teams was:
- No drama. You didn’t see Cox throwing any of his players under the bus in the media. He always stood by them. There was never any open discord on the team.
- His teams played hard and conducted themselves in a business-like fashion.
- He was even keel. He realized the season was a marathon; not a sprint. Slow and steady wins the race.
And his teams won more than their share of races.
JG
Originally posted 12/9/2013
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