Walk Off: The Bobby Cox Story

Harry Truman. Dan Rather. Fredi Gonzalez? Fredi will have to be steady to earn a household name like his tough-act-to-follow predecessors, because in baseball, replacing Bobby Cox is like following FDR on the State of the Union or Walter Cronkite on the Evening News. By making their first managerial hire since then-GM Bobby hired himself in 1990, the time has come to honor Mr. Cox as one of the most prominent baseball men of the 20th Century.

Like many managers, Bobby's playing career wasn't spectacular. Though his .225/9/58 totals would surely be enough to sate Hanley Ramirez, his MLB coaching career began with three famous handshakes-- it was Bobby Cox coaching first base for the "Mr. October" Yankees in 1977. Bobby was then hired to manage the Braves in 1978.

In 1981, Ted Turner made a decision over which he admitted near-instant regret and fired Bobby, but was able to hire him back as GM in 1985 after watching him lead the Blue Jays for four successful seasons. Cox came back to star centerfielder Dale Murphy, who Bobby moved to the position from catcher in his first stint as Braves' skip a few years earlier.

Middle-Bobby ended and Prime Bobby began when he appointed himself field manager in 1990 after four-plus seasons of watching others fail in the role. He was right. The team he built as GM blossomed under his guidance and the Braves took the worst record in baseball in '90 and went to the World Series in 1991. Bobby's Braves would go on to win 14 consecutive division titles, and although many trumpet that he only won one World Series, he gave Atlanta fans a reason to fill the seats and fans across the South a reason to tune in every night for three decades.

Bobby leaves the dugout following a 2010 season that included elements of all of his seasons in Atlanta, and concluded with another playoff appearance. Although his latest blend of youth and experience fell short of the grand prize, Braves fans can feel confident that his former bench coach and true disciple Fredi Gonzalez will remember him at every step. Though he'll fall short of Bobby's (4th all-time) 2,504 career wins and 1st all-time 158 ejections, the Braves could not have made a better choice.