Bobby Cox, the former Braves manager known for his fiery temperament, relentless competitiveness, and deep bonds with players, dies at 81. Over his 29-season managerial career, Cox led iconic players like Chipper Jones and Greg Maddux while also developing a coaching tree of future leaders, including Sam Williams.
Brian Snitker served as a bullpen, first-base and third-base coach for Bobby Cox 's Braves before eventually taking over the managerial position in 2016. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The baseball world lost a central figure in the game's history on Saturday, as former longtime Braves manager and.
Over his 29 big-league seasons as a manager, Cox became synonymous with winning, known for his sometimes turbulent emotions and paternal defense instincts for his players—traits that led to the most ejections in baseball history—and for the way in which he made people feel. Cox managed many great players over the years, from Dave Stieb to Chipper Jones to Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and countless others.
And while Cox’s impact on the players he managed was unquantifiable, so too was the impact he had on the great coaches who worked on his staffs, both with the Braves and the Blue Jays. Several of the coaches hired by Cox during his managerial tenures went on to have great careers manning the top step of the dugout as well, creating a bountiful Cox coaching tree.
Williams, a close friend of Cox’s, was hired as the Blue Jays’ third-base coach in 1980 under then-manager Bobby Mattick, who was succeeded in 1982 by Cox. Williams then spent six seasons as Toronto’s coach at the hot corner before stepping into the manager’s chair when Cox was named Braves general manager in 1986. While the Blue Jays never made the postseason on Williams’ks watch, they had winning records in three of his four seasons at the helm.
Williams then joined forces with his friend once again, this time as a third-base coach on the Braves from 1990 to ’96. He had a direct hand in one of the most famous Braves postseason moments, as it was his decision to send former Braves first baseman Sid Bream around third to score the winning run in Game 7 of the 1992 National League Championship Series.
Among those who scouted the future Hall of Famer, Williams also helped convince Cox to select future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones with the first pick in the 1990 MLB draft when many thought Atlanta would select piutcher Todd Van Poppel. Williams in 1997 then went to Boston to be the Red Sox manager, enjoying his most successful stint as a skipper in Beantown.
He was named American League Manager of the Year in 1999 after leading Boston to 94 wins and to the AL Championship Series. Williams, an old-school, no-nonsense manager who developed a reputation for working very closely with players, often credited Cox for his successes as a big-league manager. Williams then managed the Astros for three seasons before he spent a couple years as Charlie Manuel's bench coach in Philadelphia, winning a World Series with the Phillies in 2008.
Just how competitive were Cox and Williams when the former's Braves team would take on the latter's Red Sox squad?
“They set dinner up for after the game,” Williams's son Brady, the third-base coach for the Rays, on SaturdayCito Gaston spent several seasons as Cox's hitting coach in Toronto, then faced off against him in the 1992 World Series vs. the Braves. | Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn ImagesCox and Gaston had a long history together, having spent one season as teammates for the Braves' Double-A affiliate back in 1966.
Gaston then played for Cox on the Braves in 1978 before he transitioned to a coaching role as a minor-league hitting instructor with the club in 1981. Gaston, in a 2015 interview, said the work he had done with Braves minor leaguers caught Cox's attention when he was beginning to put together a list of potential candidates for his Blue Jays coaching staff ahead of the 1982 season.
“... And I think the year and a half I worked in the minor-leagues with the Braves, they saw some improvement in those kids and Bobby noticed that,”, according to Sportsnet's Shi Davidi.
“My only year I was in spring training with the Braves as a coach he kept me in big-league camp the whole time. I might have spent two weeks in the minors so I’ve been spoiled. I had it made here for a long time. ” As hitting coach, Gaston played a key role in the development of Blue Jays hitters George Bell, Jesse Barfield, Lloyd Moseby and Willie Upshaw.
The two former teammates became opponents as managers when Gaston’s Blue Jays defeated Cox’s Braves in six games in the 1992 World Series, with Gaston becoming the first African-American manager to win a Fall Classic in the process. He then led Toronto to a repeat championship in ’93, capped off by Joe Carter's memorable, World Series-winning walk-off homer in Game 6 against the Phillies.
Gaston, in two seperate stints in Toronto, went on to become the winningest manager in Blue Jays history. Yost spent 12 seasons as a bullpen and third-base coach for the Braves under Cox, during which the former was a sponge, often observing how Cox went about his business very closely while alsoIn addition to watching Cox’s tremendous work ethic in action, Yost also was a part of the winningest team of the 1990s in the Braves, who captured a title in 1995.
Is it any wonder that Cox's influence was all over Yost's managerial style, from his staunch defenses of his players to his perpetual team-first attitude to the way he treated people? Yost parlayed his wealth of coaching experience with the Braves into his first managerial role with the Brewers in 2003. He had just two winning seasons in Milwaukee in six years, but led the Brewers to the postseason in his last campaign as skipper in 2008.
It was with the Kansas City Royals, whom Yost managed from 2010 to ’19, where he found his footing as a manager, leading Kansas City to consecutive pennants for the first and only time in team history, capturing the club's first championship in 30 years in 2015. Cox kept close tabs on Yost's career, and had the utmost praise for his former pupil in a 2014 interview with ESPN..
“He’s not afraid to do things. He runs a great communication clubhouse, and he’s strict. He's always been no-nonsense—let's play the game right and win. I love Ned.
”Cox became known for his expletive-laden rants in defense of his players toward umpires. But in 2007, as González told, Cox laid into him with an obscenity-filled dose of tough love when he was having second thoughts about his decision to accept his first position as manager of the Marlins.
After a laborious first season, he led the Marlins to back-to-back winning campaigns, and just two years later succeeded Cox as Braves manager—thanks to a recommendation from Cox himself—following the longtime skipper’s retirement in 2010. González led the Braves to the postseason in two of his six years at the helm, and stewarded three straight winning seasons to begin the post-Cox era.
But before his tenures as Marlins and Braves manager, González served as Cox's third-base coach—and it was evident as to the impact that Cox had on him as a mentor. Snitker has spent over 40 years in the Braves organization as a player, coach, manager and senior advisor.
| Brett Davis-Imagn ImagesWorld Series Champion , National League Champion , NL Manager of the Year , Six Division Titles During his 40-plus years in the Braves organization, Snitker worked closely with Cox, serving as his bullpen, first-base and third-base coach in three stints on Atlanta's coaching staff. Among the many lessons Snitker learned from Cox? How to have a Zen-like calm as a manager.
Several years back, Snitker told a story of how he took a tough August 2007 loss Atlanta’s bullpen had blown much harder than Cox did.
“I’m sitting there raising hell and cussing, and he’s sitting there like there’s something wrong with me,”. “He was like, ‘No big deal, we’ll just go on to the next thing. ’ That’s the way he was during games. We were still winning.
He had things under control. And he wanted his players to feel the same way. ” The lesson evidently stuck with Snitker, for years later, his then-bench coach Walt Weiss told a similar story, with Snitker the manager sporting a Zen-like calm in the face of pressure.
“... In the end, I’d go in there after a tough loss and try to make sure he’s okay and he’d end up talking me off of the ledge,”Braves writer Demetrius Bell in April.
“He just had a calm presence about him—a patience that came across great in that leadership role. He was great at calming the waters. Through the tough times, he was very consistent and he was the same guy every day. That’s important in leadership—the players see that and it brings a calmness and consistency to the group.
” Snitker spent 10 years as the Braves manager, in 2021 leading the club to its first World Series triumph since Cox's championship in 1995. He has been open about how much of an influence Cox had on his managerial career.when asked what Cox has meant to his career.
“I don't know if we have enough time. I don't know if I can do it justice ... He’s the first guy I called when I got this job after the interim tag was removed ... I bounce the tough things you go through as a manager.
There's some tough times, tough decisions that you go through and he's the guy that I go to. ”Tim Capurso is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated, primarily covering MLB, college football and college basketball. Before joining SI in November 2023, Capurso worked at RotoBaller and ClutchPoints and is a graduate of Assumption University. When he's not working, he can be found at the gym, reading a book or enjoying a good hike.
A resident of New York, Capurso openly wonders if the Giants will ever be a winning football team again.
Baseball Atlanta Braves Bobby Cox Managerial Career Coaching Tree
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Bobby Cox, legendary Atlanta Braves skipper, dies at 84Braves country is mourning the loss of the beloved manager who led the team to an unparalleled championship run.
Read more »
Bobby Cox, legendary Braves manager and Hall of Famer, dead at 84Cox is most remembered for leading the Braves during their most prosperous era from the early 1990s through the mid-2000s, winning 14 straight National League East division titles from 1991-2005.
Read more »
Legendary Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox dies at 84Montgomery, Alabama
Read more »
Bobby Cox, legendary Atlanta Braves manager who led 1995 World Series champions, dead at 84Fox News Channel offers its audiences in-depth news reporting, along with opinion and analysis encompassing the principles of free people, free markets and diversity of thought, as an alternative to the left-of-center offerings of the news marketplace.
Read more »