ATLANTA — There is a bronze statue of Bobby Cox outside the first-base gate at Truist Park. There is a plaque and memorabilia inside Monument Garden. There is his retired uniform number on the left-field facade.
Everywhere you look, there are reminders that will be treasured forever of Atlanta’s Hall of Fame manager, the man who turned a downtrodden franchise into a dynasty.
Cox and his wife, Pam, live just a few Hank Aaron blasts from Truist Park, and will take in Tuesday’s Major League All-Star Game from his living room, where he religiously watches every Atlanta game.
There was always hope that Cox could attend the All-Star Game, appearing on the huge scoreboard for the sellout crowd to stand on their feet and cheer, just as they did when he stopped in a year ago last July, watching the game from chairman Terry McGuirk’s suite.
The reality now is that it’s just too difficult to make the journey.
Cox, who suffered a massive stroke six years ago, is confined to a wheelchair, his right side paralyzed. He’s still sharp mentally, and comprehends everything, but has extreme difficulty communicating. He has had a myriad of health issues, including congestive heart failure, but just when it looks like the end is near, he fights back.
“I don’t have any idea how he’s still kicking,’ says Atlanta manager Brian Snitker, who tries to visit Cox about once a homestand. “He’s the toughest, strongest guy I’ve ever been around.’
Snitker, former pitching coach Leo Mazzone, and a few former players like Mark Lemke and Glenn Hubbard, still frequently stop by. But for others, seeing Cox this way is too painful to bear.
“It’s just so tough,’ Hall of Fame third baseman Chipper Jones tells USA TODAY Sports. “I went over to his house a couple of years ago, and he couldn’t talk. It was just awkward being there. I haven’t gone back since that day.
“It’s just that I want to remember Bobby the way he was, not the way he is now.’
Jones is not unique in that sentiment.
“I know a lot of former players think that way,’ Snitker says, “and want to remember him as that guy. That’s fine. I mean, he doesn’t look good honestly.’
Cox, 84, was not only one of the game’s greatest managers, leading Atlanta to 14 consecutive division titles, five pennants and a World Series title, but perhaps the most revered by his players. There wasn’t a player in the game who didn’t want to play for Cox. And there was nobody who played for Cox that didn’t believe they became a better player, and certainly a better person, after playing for him.
“He was the best, the absolute best,’ Hall of Fame first baseman Fred McGriff says. “Every player who played for Bobby, to this day, has never said a bad word about Bobby Cox.
“He wasn’t like these other managers in today’s game when everyone is trying to be nicey-nicey, and take care of players. There was no need for us to have a team captain to tell someone in the clubhouse to do something right. Bobby would do it himself.
“Even when I played on all of those great Braves teams, there were times Bobby would close the door, and just wear us out. But no one would know about it. You knew exactly how he felt without reading about it or hearing about it somewhere else.’
‘Always been a second dad to me’
Andruw Jones, who was a 19-year-old rookie center fielder who hit two homers in his first two at-bats in the 1996 World Series, learned firsthand the consequences of not playing the game right. Atlanta was playing the Chicago Cubs in 1998 when Lance Johnson hit a routine fly ball into shallow center field in the eighth inning. Jones didn’t even bother hustling to make the catch. Jones retrieved the ball on one bounce, nonchalantly flung it into the infield, and when he looked up, Atlanta outfielder Gerald Williams was rushing on to replace him in the field.
Jones ran off the field, entered the dugout and Cox yelled towards him. They went down into the tunnel where no cameras could see them. Cox told him that his effort was inexcusable, and to spend the rest of the game in the clubhouse thinking about how he let down the entire organization.
Andruw Jones became a 10-time Gold Glove winner, hit 434 home runs, and is on the brink of being inducted into Cooperstown.
“To be honest with you, Bobby’s always been a second dad to me from the beginning of my career,’ Andruw Jones tells USA TODAY Sports. “He wanted you to do the right things and grow up the way he’d want. Obviously, we’re not perfect, but we wanted to carry ourselves the way he’d want on and off the field.
“I wouldn’t have been the player I became without Bobby Cox.’
Says Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux: “You can’t think of Atlanta without thinking of Bobby. He was the main reason for all of the success we had.’’
Maddux had just won the 1992 Cy Young award with the Chicago Cubs when he hit free agency at the same time as two-time MVP winner Barry Bonds. Atlanta owner Ted Turner told Cox and the front office that he had the money to spend for one of the two stars in free agency. It was up to them to decide which.
The room was divided between Bonds and Maddux, Mazzone recalls, but Cox had the final call. He chose Maddux, and a month later Maddux was signing a five-year, $28 million contract, winning 355 games in his career, and helping pave the way for Atlanta’s dynasty.
“I’m sure glad he picked me,’ Maddux says. “Bobby built his teams to win, 2-1, 3-2. We always had good pitching and great defense. But I think our defense went overlooked a lot because of our pitching, but the defense, more than the pitching, made the difference.
“Bobby, along with [GM] John Schuerholz, were responsible for that.’
Cox, who managed Atlanta in 1978-1981, and then managed in Toronto, returned to Atlanta in 1986 to be their GM. He spent four years overhauling the organization, scouting and developing players better than any team in baseball, before taking over as manager in 1990.
A dynasty was born.
“Everyone knows he was a Hall of Fame manager,’ says Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos, “but what doesn’t get talked about enough is that he was an unbelievable talent evaluator. He’s one of the best I’ve ever been around. His success as a GM, drafting players, trading players, signing players. He was incredible. When you have a elite manager in your dugout who can really evaluate players, that’s pretty incredible.’
Cox is the one who drafted stars Tom Glavine, Steve Avery and Chipper Jones, traded for future Hall of Famer John Smoltz when he was a minor leaguer with the Detroit Tigers, and turned a team that had finished last or next-to-last 12 of 16 seasons into one of the most revered organizations in baseball.
“Bobby is the most important person in franchise history,’ says Leo Mazzone, who spent 15 years with Cox, “right there with Hank Aaron. The Braves aren’t who they are without Bobby Cox. He has meant everything to them.’
If you played for Cox, you looked and acted like a professional ballplayer, on and off the field. You didn’t wear shorts or have your shirt untucked during batting practice. If you wore sunglasses, it better be the flip-down variety, where you don’t cover the “A’ on top of your cap. When traveling, sports jackets, collared shirts and dress pants were required.
Even in the clubhouse, there was no music. If you wanted to listen to your own music, put on headsets. If you wanted to see your kids, they must wait outside. The way Cox figured it, not everyone liked the same genre of music, so why irritate even one person? Not everyone had the best-behaved children, so why let someone’s kids run around annoying players or staff members?
“Even in spring training when we traveled, you had to have slacks on, even if it’s 100 degrees out there,’ former first baseman Ryan Klesko says.
“We were like the old-school Yankees, even with the facial hair. We were allowed to have a trimmed mustache, but if it got a little long, he would come by and say, ‘Hey, clean it up a little bit, it’s getting a little crazy.’ Even the hair.
“I still remember getting traded to San Diego, and the first time we went on the road, there’s Trevor [Hoffman] wearing jeans, a collared shirt, and flip-flops. In spring training, guys were coming in wearing shorts and T-shirts. I said, ‘Man, this San Diego vibe is crazy.’
Playing for Cox, his players will tell you, was like playing for your own father. He always had your back, as his major-league record 162 ejections will tell you. You didn’t want to let him down.
“It was one of those things where you had the ultimate respect for him,’ Klesko says, “and, man, did he fight for his players. He had your back. If you didn’t like a call or something, he’d be the first guy out there to fight for you.
“And if he had a problem with something you were doing, he’d call you into his office, and no one ever knew about it. Players really loved him for that.’
David Justice, whose homer in Game 6 of the 1995 World Series will be cherished forever with the city of Atlanta capturing its first major sports championship, says there’s not a day he steps into Truist Park when he doesn’t think about Cox. He hopes somehow they can be together in August to celebrate the 30-year reunion of their World Series championship.
“Man, I’m always asking about Bobby,’ Justice says. “You know how much I miss him? He was like my grandfather. He’s one of those guys that you just love and you respect. He was one of those lovable guys, man, that allowed you to go out there and play the game, and if you play hard, you’re going to be in his good graces. That’s why everybody wanted to play for Bobby Cox.’
Marquis Grissom, the All-Star outfielder and four-time Gold Glove winner, played only two seasons for Atlanta in his 17-year career – including 1995 – but calls Cox his all-time favorite manager.
“Bobby is one of the greatest managers of all time,’ Grissom says. “Bobby was a man of very few words, but when he spoke, it was always powerful, and it was always what we needed. I never really had a conversation with Bobby longer than five minutes, because I never got in trouble. I was always on time, I always played hard, and that’s all that Bobby demanded.’’
Says Chipper Jones: “Bobby had very few rules. Just basically show up on time, wear the uniform correctly, and play your ass off.’
Cox had the same impact with his staff. Five coaches under Cox’s tutelage become managers. Cito Gaston, Ned Yost and Snitker combined to win four World Series championships, and Jimy Williams and Fredi Gonzalez managed 22 seasons.
“I remember every night game I managed at home,’ Snitker says, “Bobby would come down at 6:20, bring a cup of coffee, and sit at my desk until I walked on the field. We’d sit and talk about everything but baseball.
“What I learned the most from him is patience. The patience that man had is unbelievable. He always kept calm, and the way he handled adversity. Everybody remembers him getting thrown out, but he reminded us that this is a really hard game to play.’
‘We can still make him proud’
Cox retired as manager after the 2010 season, and later became a consultant, but he remained the organization’s biggest fan, making sure that his eight kids and 23 grandchildren rooted for Atlanta’s success. Even though he has difficulty speaking, he still watches and understands the nuances of the game as if he never left the dugout.
“His mind is still sharp, he knows who you are, and what you’re doing,’ Mazzone says. “He just has trouble communicating. It’s been that way for awhile. So I try to get him laughing. That’s the best medicine he can have.’
Cox remains so revered that when Atlanta won the 2021 World Series in Houston, even before the parade, Snitker, Anthopoulos, Schuerholz and McGuirk, drove to Cox’s house. They brought along the World Series trophy, all taking pictures together with Cox euphoric as if he had just won another title.
“I’ll never forget it as long as I live,’ Snitker says. “Here we are, the two managers and GMs that ever won World Series championships in Atlanta. We brought T-shirts, caps, and everything. I know it meant a lot to Bobby. He was happier for us than when he won it.
“It meant everything to be there to share it with him.’
When Mazzone was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2022, he drove to Cox’s house with his plaque, reminding him that it never would have been possible if not for him.
“It’s the least I could do,’ Mazzone says, “for what that man has done for my career. It’s still fun being with him, talking about how awful pitching staffs are handled. So, we still have that in common.
“His feel for the game, his feel for in the game, his understanding on the importance of getting to know everybody, what makes each player tick, making sure the 25th guy on the team got the same attention as the No. 1 guy, that’s the gift he has.
“That’s what made him one of the greatest managers who ever lived.’
Now, with the 95th All-Star Game in his hometown, just a 10-minute drive away, with Cox unable to attend. While he can’t be there in person, which painfully saddens his former players, his presence still will be felt everywhere.
“I don’t think you can come to a game and be part of this organization without thinking about him,’ says former All-Star pitcher Tim Hudson. ‘You come here, see the stadium, see the statue out there on the concourse, and wish he could be here.
“He meant so much to all of us, and commanded so much respect, that you never wanted to disappoint him.’
Yes, even now.
“We all want everything to go perfect for the All-Star Game,’ Grissom says, “knowing that even though Bobby can’t be here, we can still make him proud.’’
One more time.
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This post appeared first on USA TODAY
