I decided for this piece that I would write in first person to detail exactly what Bobby Cox meant to me, an everyday fan of baseball.First of all, I’d like to wish Coach Cox well during his retirement, a farewell departure that is well deserved for his numerous accomplishments and the everlasting impression he has left on baseball. I feel that baseball will lose one of its greatest examples of how the sport should not only be played, but how people involved in Major League Baseball should represent it.
Cox deserves to have his name in the same status with great coaches not just in baseball, but in all sports.
He may not have created an offense like Bill Walsh did with the 1980s San Francisco 49ers or like Phil Jackson did with the Chicago Bulls; but in a sport like baseball, he made sure that everyone he managed understood that it was all about playing the game smart and got the best of his players.
His baseball intuitions and intelligence has been vital for obtaining the kind of success needed to be a great Major League manager.
Those qualities were able to lead him to fourteen straight division titles for the Atlanta Braves. Why is that so unique and such an accomplishment? There have been no baseball, football or basketball teams who have come near that achievement in decades (since Red Auerbach’s Boston Celtics teams).
Not only is Cox a great manager for what he has accomplished, but also for his uniqueness as a coach.
In my years of watching baseball, I notice how a variety of managers try different methods to be a leader. Some us their fired up attitude and outspoken personality to not only lead their teams, but at times become bigger than their teams. While Cox brings fire at times, he picks great moments to apply it and uses it when necessary during games rather than allowing it to take him over.
Then there are coaches who carry themselves similar to the signature Cox demeanor; very calm and cool. While many of these managers carry themselves in a dignified way as he has, they usually remain too confined in this behavior and lack that ability to spark a fire when needed. He has always remained calm under pressure, but also understands the perfect time to switch on his fiery passion.
Coach Cox has also always been able to relate to players and mesh his team well no matter what personalities he’s presented with. While many players have left or been traded by the Braves, I have never seen a player come out of the organization and defile the soon-to-be-former manager or blow up the media with reasons they dislike him, his coaching style, or for not getting to play.
Cox, in turn, does not go on a rampage about a player to the public, a method that some coaches use whether it’s through the media (like Ozzie Guillen or Joe Torre).
Along with his calmness on the Atlanta bench, Cox would never showcase any gloating or rejoice in triumph when his Braves were victorious.
As a fan of the San Francisco Giants for many years, I would cringe whenever they faced the Braves knowing that they were able to beat up the Giants during the 1990s. Despite being able to take down my childhood team, as well as a variety of other good National League teams over the years, I would never see him get worked up over a win.
To him, it was merely an expectation.
Some would call it overconfidence; I would call it simple satisfaction.
While I happily watched my team finally get through Atlanta twice, once in 2002 and this 2010 season, I am respectful of the fact that gloating is unacceptable, similar to how Cox would do the same with his team. As the Giants clapped for Cox on his last night as a manager for his beloved team, I could clearly see that respect was not only felt by myself, but throughout the league as well.
The loss of Cox is even more depressing when looking at the current corral of managers throughout the league. No other manager appears to have all the intangibles like he does; qualities such as intelligence, civility, great baseball management, fire, and respect. Many may have a few of these characteristics, but none have them all meshed into one personality like Cox does.
Watching the Braves will be painful as well when I look into the box and realize that he is no longer around.
Since I began to follow baseball, I always would see Cox in the Braves dugout, with his arms and legs folded across his body, sitting on the edge of his bench and trying to map his next move for his team. Now, that will only be a memory rather than a usual occurrence when Atlanta comes to face the Giants for years to come.
Cox was a one of a kind manager, a coach who earned the respect of me and others all around the nation. Whether you were a player or not or even root for the Braves, everyone appreciated having him around..
Now, we can only root that he can live the rest of his life in happiness.
Farewell, Bobby Cox. You will surely be missed.
