Bobby Cox: He Holds an MLB Ejections Record, and it Makes Him Great

Bobby Cox has done a lot in his forty-year baseball career. He first played in 1968, for the New York Yankees, became a manager in 1976, in the Yankee's farm system, and went to the majors as the manager of the Atlanta Braves in 1978. In 1982, he left the Braves to Joe Torre to manage Toronto and lead them out of the doldrums, returning to Atlanta in 1990 to lead the Braves on an unprecedented quest.

But on August 14, 2007, he accomplished something unflattering. But what will make Bobby - above the World Series Championship, the 2,200 wins as manager, and his ability to make minor leaguers into big leaguers with apparent ease- the best manager in Major League History? It's not to the stats, to history, or to prestige that makes Bobby great. He's a players' manager, and his record stands to prove it.

On August 14, he broke John McGraw's record of 131 career ejections. By watching Bobby manage, you may never think he'd be capable of it. When he goes out to argue (usually getting ejected for arguing balls and strikes), he does not put on the shows that his colleagues are sometimes prone to do, he just defends his players.

It's not getting ejected 135-plus times that makes him great, but that he, day after day (most days not getting ejected for leaving the dugout), goes out and takes his players' cases to the umps so they won't be ejected. Late calls, doubles down the line that should have been foul balls, strikes that should have been balls and balls that should have been strikes. Bobby is out there every day protecting his players by evening up the playing field, making sure the umps aren't giving the other team an unfair advantage, and often times getting ejected for his efforts.

It's that he does it with so much class, so much nobility, that the record goes almost unnoticed. Lou Piniella would be a more obvious face for the record. Some of Lou's greatest moments were moments he stormed the field, not to simply argue, but to fight the umps, tearing up bases, spitting, kicking dirt and even his own hat. But Bobby quietly surpassed the late John McGraw to become the great "Ejection King," and no one else.

Needless to say, there is a lot of history in what Bobby Cox has done (and will do if he continues to manage), but it's larger than the history. In our day and age where anger is a no-no, where in other sports, players and coaches are suspended for far less than what baseball players and managers get away with, it's probably a good thing baseball's modern day Connie Mack now owns the game's most devious record for a baseballer to have, because of the negative fanfare from lesser managers who put on greater shows.

It's in good hands with Bobby Cox, because like he does for his players, he'll know how to take care of this record. Other managers and coaches from other sports may be looked down upon holding an ejections record, but for Bobby, it's a sign of longevity and caring for his players. He never backs down when his boys are wronged. He is great for that, and he makes the record great along with him. It's not the record that will make Bobby great, but what the record means -stands for. It'll stand for a lot, and Bobby Cox will stand with it for as long as he holds it, and if anything can be made of the past, he'll be holding it for a long time to come.