Even though the last two games tortured me, I still realize that Bobby Cox is a special manager that will be missed by all Braves fans. Bobby Cox was a manager who spoiled us with 15 straight division titles from 1991- 2005. I must confess that with all that success I, along with many other fans, started to take the playoffs for granted. That speaks to the greatness of # 6. He was such a good manager; we started to expect playoff baseball. That fact never became more apparent to me than this year as we volleyed for a playoff spot down the stretch. I was excited just to have that chance to watch the Braves play into October.
Bobby retires as one of the all-time greats and is a surefire hall-of-famer. He ranks fourth all time in career wins and second all time in playoff wins behind Joe Torre. Some say he underachieved, only winning one World Series after all those playoff runs, but I think he has brought us moments over his tenure that I will never forget. Two of my favorites are Sid Bream sliding into home in 1992 and Otis Nixon’s amazing catch at the centerfield wall.
Bobby was known as a player’s manager and I have never heard a former player speak one bad word of him. An interesting story I read on AJC talked of the time Gary Sheffield wanted out of town and signed a free agent contract with the Yankees. The next spring training Chipper and Gary were talking and he told Chipper he didn’t realize how good he had it until he left Atlanta. I think all of us Braves fans need to realize we have had it great the last 20 years. I am excited about the future, but I am proud to say I grew up rooting for a team coached by Bobby Cox.
Agreed. It is sad that it is the end of a great era, hopefully the new era will be half as good as the one ending.
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