Atlanta Braves to Host Bobby Cox Day on August 12th

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The Atlanta Braves will pay tribute to their former manager Bobby Cox on Friday, August 12 by inducting him into the Braves Hall of Fame and retiring his uniform number for Bobby Cox Day. The induction will take place at a special luncheon and the uniform number retirement will occur in a pre-game ceremony that night before the Braves take on the Chicago Cubs.“Bobby Cox exemplifies the Braves organization,” said Atlanta Braves President John Schuerholz.

“Inducting him into our Hall of Fame and retiring his legendary number 6 is fitting recognition for a man who has done so much for our organization, our great game, and the city of Atlanta,” Schuerholz also said.

Bobby’s number 6 will be the eighth Braves uniform number to be retired, joining Hank Aaron (44), Eddie Mathews (41), Dale Murphy (3), Phil Niekro (35), Warren Spahn (21), Greg Maddux (31), and Tom Glavine (47). The Braves also retired the number 42 along with all Major League Baseball teams to honor Jackie Robinson.

Cox currently works with President John Schuerholz on special business projects and is also serving as a consultant to General Manager Frank Wren in baseball operations.

Cox spent 29 seasons as a Major League skipper, including 25 seasons in two stints at the helm of the Braves. His 2,504 wins rank fourth all-time and include a franchise-best 2,149 victories with the Braves and 355 with the Toronto Blue Jays. Cox posted an overall career record of 2,504-2001-3 (.556).

He closed out his 29-year managerial career in 2010, when the Braves went 91-71 and claimed the first National League Wild Card championship in franchise history. The 2010 campaign was his 15th with 90 or more wins, tying him for second all-time in 90-win seasons with Hall of Fame skipper Joe McCarthy (15) and putting him one behind the legendary John McGraw (16). Cox and McCarthy are the only managers in Major League history to compile six 100-win seasons. On June 8, 2009, Cox posted his 2,000th Braves victory, making him just the fourth skipper in big-league history to claim 2,000 wins with one team, joining Connie Mack (Athletics), John McGraw (Giants) and Walter Alston (Dodgers).

Cox won 15 division crowns in his career, including 14 straight in Atlanta that led to five pennants (1991, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1999) and one World Championship (1995). He had a string of 15 consecutive winning seasons from 1991 to 2005, tying him with Al Lopez and Earl Weaver for third place all-time behind Joe McCarthy (20) and Sparky Anderson (17) for consecutive winning campaigns.

Cox was voted the Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America four times (1985 with Toronto and 1991, 2004 and 2005 with Atlanta). The Sporting News, in a poll of his peers, honored Cox as the league’s top skipper seven times with the Braves and eight times overall. No other manager has won the Sporting News award more than three times since the magazine started the balloting in 1936. In 1991 the Associated Press named him Major League Manager of the Year, as he became the first manager to earn that honor in both leagues, having also won it while with the Blue Jays in 1985.

He will join Hank Aaron, Bill Bartholomay, Lew Burdette, Skip Caray, Del Crandall, Ralph Garr, Tom Glavine, Tommy Holmes, Ernie Johnson, David Justice, Herman Long, Bill Lucas, Greg Maddux, Eddie Mathews, Dale Murphy, Kid Nichols, Phil Niekro, John Sain, Paul Snyder, Warren Spahn, Ted Turner, and Pete Van Wieren in the Braves Hall of Fame.

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