Bobby Cox Remembered as Paving Way for Blue Jays' Future Success
As the tributes pour in for Hall of Fame Manager Bobby Cox most will focus on his time with the Atlanta Braves. And well they should. Cox managed the Braves to an incredible 14 straight division titles, five NL Pennants and the 1995 World Series title.
What many people forget, however, is that in between stints with the Braves, Cox spent four seasons managing the Toronto Blue Jays. Cox piloted the Blue Jays to their first-ever winning record in 1983 and their inaugural division title in 1985.
And even after he left, Cox would be on hand for Toronto's first ever World Series win in i1992, albeit in the opposing dugout.
A Turnaround Artist
Cox's first managerial job in 1978 was, ironically, with Braves owner Ted Turner, who also passed away this week. The Braves had finished last three years in a row, and things had gotten so bad in 1977 that Turner himself took over as manager for one game before the National League ordered him to step down.
Turner fired Cox after the strike-shortened 1981 season. At the press conference announcing his firing, Turner was asked who was on his shortlist of replacements. He answered,' "It would be Bobby Cox if I hadn't just fired him. We need someone like him around here," per Yahoo. Turner actually replaced Cox with Joe Torre, and 33 years later, the two skippers would go into the Baseball Hall of Fame together.
Cox did not stay unemployed for long.
Toronto finished last in the AL East every year from their maiden season in 1977 through 1981. The Blue Jays combined winning percentage for those five years before Cox was .359, and it had actually dipped to .349 during the strike-shortened 1981 season.
From Worst to First
Year | Winning Percentge | Place in Division |
|---|---|---|
1981 (Before Cox) | .349 | 7th (Last) |
1982 (Cox 1st season) | .481 | 6th |
1983 | .549 | 4th |
1984 | .549 | 2nd |
1985 | .615 | 1st |
In Cox's last season with the Blue Jays, the 'Drive of '85, attendance at the old Exhibition Stadium was nearly double that of the 1980s, the last full season prior to Cox's arrival in Canada.
These were the days of Dave Stieb and Jess Barfield, Ernie Whitt and Rance Mulliniks. George 'Taco' Bell burst onto the scene in 1984 with 26 home runs.
Cox's laid the foundation for Toronto's two Championships
Cox's fingerprints were all over the Blue Jays' first World Series Championship in 1992.
Take, for example, Jimmy Key. In 1984, as a rookie, Key pitched in 63 games, all in relief. Cox made him a starter in 1985. In the 1992 World Series, Key pitched 7.2 innings as a starter and then was the winning pitcher in relief in the clinching Game 6.
Cox made Tom Henke the closer in 1985. Henke saved two games in that same championship run.
Cox brought in Cito Gaston, who would later lead Toronto to back-to-back World Series Championships in 1992 and 1993, as his hitting coach.
Cox watched it all from the other dugout as manager of the Braves.
Playoff Heartbreak
Cox had the best regular-season winning percentage of any full-season manager in club history (.549). He was named American League Manager of the Year in 1985 and, in 1991, became the first manager to win the award in both leagues.
But, just as in Atlanta, he found heartbreak in the postseason.
In the first-ever seven-game American League Championship Series, Toronto raced out to a 3-1 lead over Kansas City. In Games 5-7, Cox started Key, Doyle, Alexander, and Dave Stieb all on three days' rest. Toronto lost all three games while George Brett and Kansas City went on to upset the Cardinals in the World Series.
From the Land of the Freeze to The Home of the Braves
Weeks after the heartbreaking loss, the Braves called one of Cox's closest friends, general manager Pat Gillick, asking permission to speak to Cox about becoming their next general manager despite Cox never having worked in a front office
Cox's wife, Pam, and their children had remained in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta while Cox managed in Toronto. With family a key factor in his decision, Cox accepted the position of general manager for the Braves in 1986. In 1987, he traded the same Doyle Alexander who had lost Game 6 of the 1985 ALCS for a young minor league pitcher named John Smoltz.
Cox's career was one of the history books as he retired among the winningest managers in MLB history. He truly began to pave that path in Toronto.
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Adam Steinmetz writes about the Toronto Blue Jays for SI.com. Adam is also the editor and publisher of the Boston Sunday Sports Section, a weekly digital publication covering the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins. A two-time winner of the Best Collegiate Sports Writer award in Philadelphia, he began his career with freelance work for The Philadelphia Daily News and The Palm Beach Post before building a successful career outside of journalism. He returned to sports writing last year, contributing to Pitcher List—including coverage of the Toronto Blue Jays—before launching Authorenticity on Substack, where he explores the human stories within baseball. The Boston Sunday Sports Section is his most ambitious project — the thinking fan’s modern Sunday Sports Section focused on the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins.