Chipper Jones said he could not stay quiet in the time of loss after Bobby Cox died at 84, calling the longtime Atlanta Braves manager the leader of men and a second father to so many around the club. Jones said Cox gave him the chance to play baseball by drafting him first overall in the 1990 MLB Draft, then guided his career from his 1993 debut through the end of Cox’s managerial run in 2010.
Jones posted the tribute over the weekend of Cox’s death, saying he was struggling to put into words what the manager meant to him and to Braves Country. He said Cox was probably the number one reason he spent his entire career in Atlanta, adding that he still hears Cox’s voice from the corner of the dugout telling him, “Come on kid, you got this!”
The loss lands with extra weight because Cox was not just a former manager but a defining figure in Braves history. Under him, Atlanta won 14 consecutive division titles, five National League pennants and the 1995 World Series, a run that turned the franchise into one of baseball’s modern dynasties and made Cox a Hall of Fame skipper whose influence stretched far beyond one clubhouse.
Jones also said his boys won both of their games on the day Cox died and added, “Bobby had a hand, I have no doubt!” That kind of loyalty ran through the people Cox managed. Tom Glavine remembered him coming down into the dugout in full uniform, spikes on and ready to go, with a passion to win every inch he could for his players.
That is the part that lingers now. Cox was the man who picked Jones, developed him and kept him in Braves uniform for nearly his whole career, and those who played for him are left describing not just a manager but a force that shaped their lives. As the Braves continue their schedule at Truist Park, the memory of Cox is still tied to the standard he set there and across Atlanta.
More on the club’s current run can be found in coverage of Jorge Mateo not in play as Braves open Tigers series at Truist Park, Brian Snitker Braves Hall of Fame induction moved indoors as rain hits Truist Park, and Marlins Vs Braves: Holmes, Pérez set up first-place test at Truist Park.
