The Giants end Bobby Cox’s career to go forward in the Playoffs (Part 5)
Farewell to Bobby Cox
For a man who had been the right manager for the Atlanta Braves, there were many good and unlucky moments to recall in Major League Baseball. Bobby Cox, the 69 year skipper, was once the Toronto Blue Jays manager during the 80’s.
Having moved from the Braves to the Jays in 1982, the living legend earned the team a playoff spot and the east division title. He moved back to Atlanta in 1985, filling in the role of General Manager. However, that changed 5 years
later when the club icon moved on to a skipper’s role in 1990. Since then the gaffer stayed at the central club till the end of his tenure in 2010.
The once average player in the New York Yankees team was a formidable skipper for any team he managed. He had a batting average of .225 and smashed just 9 homers in a career that lasted from 1968 to 1969. He became part of the
New York Yankees Farm system and groomed some leading talents in the game. In addition he was part of the coaching staff that won the 1977 World Series.
Cox made his way to the managerial seat for the Braves in place of Dave Bristol in 1978 and the move was a contingency plan designed to salvage the Atlanta side off its despicable standing in Major League Baseball. He however,
did not last long there as the baseball strike saw him hit the top list of Ted Turner’s termination memorandum. In a press conference, turner confirmed the reports by specifically stating that Bobby was going to be fired if he had not been by then.
A successful spell in Toronto was followed by Bobby’s emergence in the Braves’ management chair. He became the General Manager and he tried to fix the mess up that piled over for years at the club. He went through two managers
from 1986 to 1990, before he took on the task himself. Leading by example, the average skipper turned the side upside down and steered them to the World Series. But they were unable to beat the Minnesota Twins in the final series of the competition, hence,
losing the title bid, altogether. The following year witnessed the repeat of the results. This time the side lost to the Blue Jays and went out crashing without any league glory.
The side won its first and only World Series title under Bobby Cox, in 1995. The Braves went on to beat the Cleveland Indians and claim the World Series title. However, that was the only time the side won the major prize in the
competition. With nothing to lose and everything to win the side were at their best under the manager.
However, since 2001, the side never managed to go past the playoffs in the major league and with years closing by, Cox was ageing. The time was near to see the main man go out of the competition with a good illustrious career in
the bag. In the end of the 2009 season, the gaffer agreed to retire and leave the club for a technical position in the Braves organization.
At post match press conference after the Braves lost their chance to go ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the playoffs, the manager shared a few words and this sentence was particularly heartfelt for the fans and the players,
alike: "It doesn't feel like the last time I'm putting it on, but it certainly is. I won't put it on again."
Bruce Bochy, manager of the Giants was the winner in the night on Monday, but he had a few words to say about Bobby in the night, "I revere this man so much. It's going to be strange coming in here and not seeing Bobby on the other
side."
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