Cox Bobby - When the Braves Ruled the Diamond: Fourteen Flags over Atlanta

Copyright 2016 by Dan Schlossberg

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Tom Lau

Cover photo courtesy of AP Images

Back cover photo by Jeff Slate

ISBN: 978-1-61321-837-2

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-61321-838-9

Printed in the United States of America

To my dear friend Ken Olivenbaum

who was never right about the weather

but always right about life

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR WHEN THE BRAVES RULED THE DIAMOND:

Dan Schlossberg puts his Hall of Fame Rolodex and encyclopedic baseball mind to work in profiles and chapters that move briskly and capture the essence of what it takes to be a winner.

Steve Borelli, senior editor, USA TODAY Sports Weekly

Like DiMaggio and Monroe, Ripken and The Streak, Aaron and Home Runs, it's Schlossberg and the Braves, a match and marriage never to be separated. Read it, love it, and enjoy the true passion of the author.

Al Clark, Major League umpire, 1976-2001

When it comes to knowledge of the Braves, there is only one sportswriter to go to and it's Dan Schlossberg. Hes a real Atlanta Braves guru.

Jay Smith, president, Sports Travel and Tours

I've covered or been with an MLB team for more than 40 years and Atlanta's dominance during that 14-year title run was a special time in the game. Dan Schlossberg, as usual, has painted that picture so well in his book. Its a must-read.

Bob Ibach, author, sportscaster, and former Chicago Cubs PR director

Dan Schlossberg has hit a grand slam! This is a fascinating, informative, and funny look at 14 great Atlanta Braves teams.

Doug Lyons, author of 100 Years of Whos Who in Baseball

Long-time SCD columnist Dan Schlossberg combines his passion for Braves baseball with his historian expertise to provide a first-class look at the amazing run of Atlanta title teams.

Tom Bartsch, editor-in-chief, Sports Collectors Digest

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

A S A BOY growing up in the New York bedroom suburb of Passaic, New Jersey, I had two passions: trains and baseball.

The electric train set in my basement was my favorite toy before baseball cards began to wean me away. I liked the color and design of the cards, not to mention the fact that I could carry them anywhere, hide them under my bed, and trade them with friends like a real-life general manager trading players.

Even now, after establishing a career as a professional writer and broadcaster, I still like trains and baseball. In fact, I consider the 14-year title streak of the Atlanta Braves not just a pro sports record but a living example of the ultimate express train.

Like the Phoebe Snow and the Orient Express, the Braves launched their streak after careful planning that parlayed mind and muscle into a juggernaut not seen before or since.

In railroad parlance, John Schuerholz, the general manager who arrived after the 1990 season, was the conductor.

Bobby Cox, the field manager for the entire 14-year run, was the engineer.

Leo Mazzone, the outspoken old-school pitching coach Cox discovered in the minors, drove him crazy with his nervous rocking but worked wonders with his charges, turning some into Hall of Famers and others into valuable supporting casts.

Beyond Cox and Mazzone, the only other man who wore a Braves uniform for the entire streak was John Smoltz, elected to the Hall of Fame in 2015. He teamed with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, who reached Cooperstown a year earlier, to win a half-dozen Cy Young Awards and more pennants during the 90s than any other team.

Also on his way to the hallowed Hall is Chipper Jones, whose 1995 rookie season coincided with the only world championship in Atlanta history. Although he could have departed via free agency, as all three pitchers did, Chipper won the hearts of Braves fans by choosing to spend his whole career with the team.

Like Terry Pendleton, another third baseman whose leadership pushed the team to several titles, Chipper won a National League batting crown and Most Valuable Player Award while wearing Braves livery. In fact, Chipper succeeded Terry at the critical position.

This is the story of a baseball express that roared through dozens of cities, stopping only to pick up helpful hands along the way.

It literally polevaulted from last place in 1990 to first place in 1991and liked the rarefied air so much that it stayed there for 14 consecutive completed seasons.

Both the Braves and the Minnesota Twins, their 91 World Series opponents, went from worst to firsta feat never accomplished beforebut Atlanta became the first team to do it after posting the worst record in both leagues the previous year.

That climb, coupled with the ability to stay at the summit, showed that the pairing of Cox and Schuerholz was a rare baseball marriage with lasting power.

Cox, who managed the Braves from 1978 to 1981 and the Toronto Blue Jays from 1982 to 1985, was hired twice by Ted Turneronce to manage a weak Braves team and again to rebuild the ballclub as general manager in 1985.

Emphasizing pitching, Cox and his scouts signed Glavine, traded for Smoltz, and found exceptional position players such as David Justice and Ron Gant. When he returned to the dugout during the 1990 season, all four were already blossoming.

Because he felt more comfortable in the dugout, Cox gladly gave up the GMs job to Schuerholz, who jumped across league lines from Kansas City to Atlanta after the 1990 campaign. The two not only knew and respected each other but had even made three trades. Both agreed that the best way to boost the franchise was to bolster a leaky defense.

Before the start of the 91 season, Schuerholz had signed seven free agentsmost of them known for their defenseand traded for fleet centerfielder Otis Nixon, the final piece in his carefully crafted mosaic.

Reversing their 1990 record of 6597, which left them last in the National League West and 26 games from the front-running Reds, the Braves went 9468, good enough to beat out the Dodgers by a single game. Their young pitching, buoyed by confidence in their fielders, prevailed against the powerful Pittsburgh Pirates in the playoffs and set the stage for one of the most exciting World Series ever played.

Three games, including the historic seventh, went into extra innings. Four went down to the final pitch. And five were decided by a single run.

For the Braves, that was just the beginning. They won five pennants in the 90smore than any other teamand brought Atlanta its only world championship.

They survived slumps, suspensions, strikes, and the never-ending salary spiral. Even a long-overdue switch from the National League West to the National League East didnt deter them.

This is the story of how the Atlanta Braves became baseballs most successful ballclub at a time when sustained excellence was unexpected and often unexplained.