ATLANTA (DA) — Bobby Cox, the Hall of Fame manager who led the Atlanta Braves to 14 straight division titles, five National League pennants and the 1995 World Series championship, has died at 84, prompting tributes across Major League Baseball and from former players whose careers he helped shape.
Cox’s impact stretched across a half-century in the game as a player, executive and manager with the Braves and Toronto Blue Jays. The MLBPA said Cox’s 2,504 career wins, five pennants and 1995 World Series title helped pave his road to Cooperstown.
The Braves called Cox “our treasured skipper” and said his managerial legacy with Atlanta “will never be matched.” The club said Cox was a favorite throughout the baseball community, especially among those who played for him.
For Curaçao, one of the strongest connections to Cox came through Andruw Jones, who played for him in Atlanta from 1996 to 2007. Jones became one of the defining Braves players of that era and built much of his major league career under Cox’s leadership.
“Bobby meant everything to me in my baseball career,” Jones said. “I’ve said this before, he was like my second dad. He took the chance to give me the opportunity to go out there and be the baseball player that I was, and he trusted me.”
Jones said Cox’s trust helped shape him beyond the field.
“When a legend tells you to go out there and that they trust you, you never want to fail them,” Jones said. “I took a lot of pride in going out there to help him get the team where we wanted to be. Bobby meant everything to me, not just in baseball career, but in guiding me to be the person I am.”
Commissioner Rob Manfred said Cox led one of the greatest eras of sustained excellence in baseball history and helped make the Braves an October fixture.
“Through his leadership, eye for talent, and commitment to player development, Bobby helped shape the careers of numerous Hall of Famers and guided the Braves to Atlanta’s first major professional sports championship in 1995,” Manfred said.
Cox was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. MLB, the Braves and the MLBPA extended condolences to his family, friends, former players, coaches and Braves fans.