http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/B...m-field-101110
Baseball won't be the same without Cox
The T-shirts hanging on the rack in the lobby of the hotel across the street from Turner Field proclaimed "Coxtober."
The signage above the awning of the center field concession stand simply read "11 for 6," a reference to the 11 wins the Braves needed in the postseason to reward No. 6, retiring manager Bobby Cox, with a second world championship.
Outta here
Bobby Cox has been ejected from more games than anyone in MLB history. At the end of this season, he'll exit of his own free will — by retiring. Look back at his impressive career here.
The hopes, however, turned into disappointment on Monday night.
The end came prematurely — if after 51 years in uniform anything can be considered premature.
A Braves team that became special to Cox because of the way it battled through injuries to claim the NL wild-card was eliminated in four games by San Francisco in the best-of-5 National League Division Series.
And then reality hit the stoic Cox, whose competitiveness is obvious by the fact he was ejected more times (158) than any manager in the history of the game, but whose personality was underscored by the fact that none of the 158 had the drama to make them memorable like a Lou Piniella-base-throwing or Earl Weaver dirt-kicking.
Facing the media in the aftermath of the 3-2 loss that was to mark his departure from the managerial job, Cox tried to keep it cool.
"It is hard to believe it’s the last time I will put (the uniform) on, but it is," he said, his voice suddenly breaking, and he muttered, "a grown man shouldn’t do this."
But nobody cared if Cox’s eyes teared up.
He earned the right in a 29-year managerial career — a four-year stint in Toronto interrupting his 25 years with Atlanta — that saw him win more games (2,504) than everyone who had ever managed except for Connie Mack, John McGraw and Tony La Russa.
He took Toronto to the first postseason in its history in 1985, guided the Braves to a pro sports record 14 consecutive division titles (1991-2005) and then made his managerial record 16th postseason appearance this month.
A baseball lifer
"We knew this was inevitable, we had time to prepare for it, but I don’t think any of us were ready for it," said Atlanta President John Schuerholz, who came from Kansas City to be replace Cox as the Braves general manager when Cox returned to the dugout in 1990. "He was a great leader. He was so much of what this franchise stands for. You don’t replace a guy like that."
But there is a need to honor a guy like that. Even in the disappointment of their team’s elimination, not only did the fans at Turner Field coax Cox into a curtain call, but Giants players, in the midst of an on-field celebration for winning the Division Series, stopped and joined in applauding the manager in the opposition’s dugout.
"Anybody who has been in this game wants to pay their respect to Bobby," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. "It’s going to be strange to come here next year and Bobby Cox won’t be managing the team. I’ve always looked up to him, not just how he manages the game, but his team, how professional they are. They are always in uniform. They play the game right."
Cox seemed embarrassed by the commotion.
"I saw them," he said. "I gave them a thumbs up."
A third baseman signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1959, Cox spent eight years in the minor leagues with the Dodgers, Atlanta and Chicago Cubs before being acquired by the Yankees, who took him to the big leagues in 1968 and 1969 only to have his achy knees bring a premature ending to his playing career.
The Yankees, though, liked what they had in Cox and persuaded him to get into field management, a decision he never regretted.
Retiring types
A job in baseball is about the best work a guy can get. Still, for every player, manager or umpire, the time comes to step away from the game.
"It’s been a good ride," he said.
So good that there were many who really wondered if the ride would ever end as long as Cox was breathing and walking. He loves NASCAR and plays an occasional round of golf, but his life is baseball.
At home games he could be found seven hours before first pitch, in a small room off the dugout, having a cigar and watching the weather map.
On the road he would spend the early afternoon sitting on the bench.
Even in the postseason, the habits were hard to break.
Nearly seven hours before the first pitch in Game 1 of the NLDS he was walking the steps at AT&T Park in San Francisco, and once that part of the day’s activity was completed he could be found sitting in the stands, high enough to see over the right field wall and get a view of the serenity of the bay.
The Braves have given Cox a five-year contract as a special assistant to general manager Frank Wren.
"What you have to understand is you don’t replace a guy like that," said Schuerholz said. "This is a sad day for the game. … Suddenly we lose and you have the worse realization, that this is his last game as a manager.
"Thank God we are still going to have him around. He belongs here."
And the folks in Atlanta made Cox feel welcome even when he was telling them goodbye.