Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Braves exercise Cox’s ‘05 option
Posted by Matthew NameeThe Braves picked up manager Bobby Cox's 2005 contract option on Monday, all but ensuring him of 2,000 career victories. Cox has 1906 wins right now, so it's certainly possible he could reach the mark this season.
Is Cox the greatest manager of all time? At the very least, he's got to be on the short list, with names like McCarthy, Stengel, Weaver, and McGraw. By the end of 2005, Cox should rank 6th all-time in managerial victories. Actually, 7th -- Tony LaRussa has 2009 wins to his credit and is still going strong. I always think of LaRussa as being way younger than Cox, but they're only 3 years apart.
Matthew Namee cofounded The Hardball Times in 2004, when he was working as the assistant to baseball author and Red Sox executive Bill James. Matthew still lives in Kansas, where he is currently pursuing a law degree. He can be reached at mfnamee [at] gmail [dot] com.