A tough week for the Atlanta Braves in terms of franchise history and luminaries just got even tougher, as the franchise will now have to mourn the loss of yet another massive figure in the organization. Just days after the passing of legendary owner Ted Turner, former Braves manager and Baseball Hall of Famer Bobby Cox has passed away at the age of 84.
Bobby Cox actually had two stints with the Braves in his post-playing career — a playing career that saw him get acquired
by the Braves during the 1960s without having ever played a big league game for them. His first stint started in 1978 when he was named manager at a time when the recently-departed Ted Turner was employing a hands-on approach with the squad. The stint didn’t go particularly well as Cox ended up getting fired following the strike-shortened 1981 season and in typical Ted Turner fashion, the owner lamented that “We need someone like [Cox] around here” in a press conference shortly after he fired him.
It was the second stint in Atlanta that made Cox a legend. Following another brief stint in Toronto, Cox returned to the Braves as a general manager in 1986 and went about building the core of the team that would go on to dominate the National League for the entirety of the 1990s. Once it became clear that Russ Nixon wouldn’t be the manager who would push this team to glory, Cox made himself the manager and then helped bring in John Schuerholz to fill the role of GM. It ended up being the early genesis of a generational run in the dugout for Cox — one that yielded 15 postseason appearances in 20 full seasons, 14 divisional titles (3 NL West, 11 NL East), five National League Pennants, and a World Series title in 1995
Once the divisional dynasty ended, Cox held on for a few seasons that saw the Braves languish in mediocrity a bit before Cox announced in September 2009 that the 2010 season would be his final season. Perhaps realizing a sense of urgency in the moment, the Braves rallied and made the Postseason as a wild card before bowing out in the divisional round one final time. Cox finished with a record of 2149 wins to 1709 losses — good for a .557 winning percentage while also picking up four Manager of the Year awards during his time as a manager. He also finished his career with 158 career ejections, which is the all-time record.
While Bobby Cox certainly wasn’t perfect — both on the field and off of it — there’s no denying the fact that his man management skills and motivational tactics were second to none and went a long way towards cementing his success as a manager. It’s a testament to his style of management that every single Braves manager that’s come after him has prioritized making sure that the clubhouse was peaceful with everybody pulling in the same direction. The one constant between Fredi Gonzalez, Brian Snitker and currently Walt Weiss is that all of these guys would run through a wall for their manager and the managers managed to take what they learned from Bobby Cox and apply that in their own, unique ways.
Cox was a fantastic manager but he’d also be the first to tell you that it’s all about the players and Cox was able to properly steward an incredible amount of talent during his time as the manager of the Braves. The Hall of Famers from the ‘90s immediately come to mind, as Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Chipper Jones and now Andruw Jones will all talk endlessly about how much they enjoyed playing under Bobby. He continued to stay interested in what the Braves had going on well after his retirement — Brian Snitker noted during the 2025 season that when the 1995 team was in the building being honored, Cox came up to him and tried to strike up a conversation about Hurston Waldrep.
Cox likely would’ve continued to stay around on a regular basis had it not been for a stroke that he suffered in 2019 which slowed him down from a physical standpoint. If not for that, there’s a very good chance that we would’ve been seeing and hearing from Bobby Cox on a regular basis right up until now. Instead, the Braves will now have to mourn two massive losses within the span of a few days. Ted Turner now has someone like Bobby Cox around again. Rest in peace to both.
