Comments on: Bobby Cox

By: Pedro

Pedro — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 23:12:36 +0000

9. This Mets fan will always have a soft spot in his heart for Bobby V and all the antics.Those were good years to root for the Mets. Great article about him managing in Japan in Sports Illustrated last month. Pretty fascinating stuff, and yes, he learned Japanese. Multi-lingual master of disguise, Bobby Valentine.

By: Brent is a Dodger Fan

Brent is a Dodger Fan — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 20:32:36 +0000

8. I wonder if the current rules of MLB ejections explicitly prohibit an ejected manager from, say, sending text messages to a bench coach or even being on the phone with him by cell phone. I understood the purpose of ejection to be a penalty on the team, not just removing the offending party from the situation. If so, any covert attempts to manage from the clubhouse (or elsewhere distant) would be cheating. Bobby V's stunt was absurdly funny, though.

By: Josh Wilker

Josh Wilker — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:33:10 +0000

7. 5: Does Bobby Valentine speak to his players in Japanese? I mean, does he know the language? I'd sort of think he'd have to, but maybe not. 6: And of course Torre took over for Cox in Atlanta and reaped the benefits of Cox's switching of Dale Murphy from catcher to outfield. A couple things I meant to include in the original post: First, I was stunned to discover this card in my collection. My first thought was that somehow Bobby Cox had always been the manager of the Atlanta Braves, and he always would be the manager of the Atlanta Braves. It was sort of soothing to think that was the case, and I believed it for a second until I remembered him piloting the Lloyd Moseby-era Blue Jays during the '80s. Second, Cox's run at the ejection record has provided the second significant referencing of John McGraw this season, the first being when A-Rod's "mine" stunt had historians recalling McGraw's array of dirty tricks as a player for the old Baltimore Orioles.

By: mbtn01

mbtn01 — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 15:19:10 +0000

6. Inrteresting to note that the initial Cox ejection (the 5th grader in me is laughing at that phrase) you mention was also the first managerial showdown of Torre and Cox — two guys who will enter the Hall of Fame as managers.

Here’s a quick check of all Cox-Torre games since that first one (Cox won though he wasn’t around to see it):

Cox (ATL) v. Torre (NYM) 1978-81
Torre 26, Cox 16

Cox (ATL) v. Torre (StL) 1990-95
Cox 40, Torre 32

Cox (ATL) v. Torre (NYY) 1996-07
Torre 10, Cox 9 (reg. season)
Torre 8, Cox 2 (postseason)

Total: Torre 68, Cox 65 (74-67 incl. postseason)

By: joejoejoe

joejoejoe — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 12:07:06 +0000

5. Bobby Valentine has a cool blog of his own about his adventures as a manager in Japan. I’m on the ‘Bobby’s Way’ email list and it’s a fun distraction about once a month to see what he has to say about baseball in Japan even if the email looks like お気に入りの場所　大阪編 when I first open it. It’s in Japanese.

http://www.bobbysway.jp/

I’d love to see the Yankees sign Bobby Valentine as their next manager. I’m tired of fans treating the team like it’s UNC and only Tarheels are good enough to manage it. Neither Joe Torre or Casey Stengel had nothing to do with the Yankees before they were hired. Sticking to ‘Yankee family’ is a mistake.

Fun fact: Bobby V is arguably Connecticut’s greatest high school athlete – he was three times all state in football in addition to being good enough to play pro baseball.

By: Monkey Head

Monkey Head — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 23:20:09 +0000

4. I spent my high school and college summers building garages, and I looked forward to the rainy days too. It was a real bitch if we'd already put the roof on when it rained, because then we could cut the siding or put the door together even in the rain.

By: mbtn01

mbtn01 — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:14:47 +0000

3. I will buy that book today. I fantasize about quitting all the time.

By: Josh Wilker

Josh Wilker — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:04:08 +0000

2. 1: Ha! Funny to think of Greenpeace as "The Man." The guy I phoned in my mumbling resignation to was one of the canvassing supervisors, a soft-spoken, disheveled, aging hippie who looked like a slightly less worn David Crosby. Speaking of quitting, a book recommendation: Dishwasher, by Pete Jordan. It's the workography of a guy who set out to wash dishes in all 50 states. He's a good and funny writer in general, and he's the Shakespeare of the sweet and fetid brief cheap thrill of quitting. Never a dull moment when Valentine was at Shea. As a neutral observer, I loved the guy, or at least loved the amount of entertainment he provided. He was also quite the mensch during the 9/11 aftermath, as I recall.

By: mbtn01

mbtn01 — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:31:50 +0000

1. Way to stick it to The Man. I once had a very short summer career as a auto-glass tinter. When I told the boss I was quitting he asked, "can you stay around till the end of the week?" and I said, "Um... no." There are a lot of misguided fans out there who consider Bobby Valentine's disguise stunt as a mark against him.