Cox gets ejected for major league-record 132nd time

Slim · 08-15-2007, 12:49 PM

Quote:

ATLANTA -- After going 7Â½ weeks without getting tossed, Bobby Cox finally passed John McGraw for the most ejections in baseball history Tuesday night.

The Atlanta Braves manager was thrown out by plate umpire Ted Barrett for arguing a called third strike on Chipper Jones to end the fifth inning against the San Francisco Giants.

It was the 132nd ejection of Cox's career, eclipsing the mark that McGraw set during his Hall of Fame career.

"Just routine arguing balls and strikes, and he was ejected for that," Barrett said. "Nothing out of the ordinary from other ejections."

Jones struck out with runners at second and third and the Braves trailing 3-0. They rallied to win 5-4.

"Bobby had kind of been biting his tongue lately," Jones said. "He was embarrassed by the record. But it was inevitable. He's too passionate about the game."

After taking a pitch over the inside corner from Jack Taschner, Jones flipped his bat some 80 feet toward the Braves dugout, then flung his helmet nearly as far. He also shouted a couple of obscenities before heading to his position at third base.

Moving quickly to take the heat off his player, Cox began arguing from the dugout and was tossed by Barrett. The manager then trotted onto the field, carrying on an animated conversation with the ump for a couple of minutes before heading back to the dugout -- and on to the clubhouse.

"It's nothing," Cox said of the record. "It just means I've been around a long time, that's all."

Most fans and media were unaware that Cox had been ejected. An announcement was made in the press box before the start of the sixth inning, but no acknowledgment was made to the crowd.

Still, the ejection seemed to fire up the Braves. The scored four runs in the sixth and won it on Jones' run-scoring double in the ninth.

"It lit a fire under our butts," said Mark Teixeira, who led off the sixth with a homer. "I'm sure Bobby got his money's worth."

And, yes, the winning hit came from the very same player who was in the middle of Cox's record-setting ejection.

"It was like all the other times Bobby got tossed," Matt Diaz said. "He went out there and he had his player's back."

While baseball doesn't count ejections as an official stat, the Society for American Baseball Research came up with 131 ejections for McGraw. The manager known as "Little Napoleon" was tossed 14 times as a player, so Cox already held the mark for managers.

He tied McGraw's overall record during a June 23 game against the Detroit Tigers. Cox ran on the field hoping to keep catcher Brian McCann from getting ejected over a disputed strike call in the ninth inning.

They both wound up getting tossed by plate umpire Chad Fairchild.

After that, Cox managed to go 43 consecutive games without an ejection.

espn.com

barfly467 · 08-15-2007, 04:39 PM

He needs some medication. I want to see that guy have a heart attack while yelling at an umpire.

Brandon · 08-15-2007, 06:23 PM

Best manager of our generation

Necro · 08-15-2007, 10:09 PM

yeah that guys great...

Toaster Oven · 08-16-2007, 12:31 AM

The Pitching he's produced, one of the definite all time greats. Don't get me wrong, Leo Mazzone did his part as the pitching coach, but Cox just put out pitcher after pitcher after pitcher. It's truly amazing

Randy Orton · 08-16-2007, 12:45 AM

I agree the braves from 95-99 i would NOT want to play

Freak · 08-16-2007, 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M. Shinoda
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The Pitching he's produced, one of the definite all time greats. Don't get me wrong, Leo Mazzone did his part as the pitching coach, but Cox just put out pitcher after pitcher after pitcher. It's truly amazing

I'm not disagreeing, I'm just curious how far you'd go with this statement.

Obviously he had Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz in his rotation for years (and was a blessed man for that), but who else did he really "put out"?

Steve Avery was a fantastic pitcher for a few years, but if anything, Cox pitched him into the ground at a very young age and ended his career way prematurely. I guess Millwood was alright for a while... I can't think of anyone else.

Brandon · 08-16-2007, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freak
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I'm not disagreeing, I'm just curious how far you'd go with this statement.

Obviously he had Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz in his rotation for years (and was a blessed man for that), but who else did he really "put out"?

Steve Avery was a fantastic pitcher for a few years, but if anything, Cox pitched him into the ground at a very young age and ended his career way prematurely. I guess Millwood was alright for a while... I can't think of anyone else.

Denny Neagle had his best years with Atlanta.

Toaster Oven · 08-16-2007, 01:15 AM

I didn't say they were all outstanding Hall of Famers, like Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, but they were all solid starters. Such as Denny Neagle, and some good relievers such as Mark Wohlers, Alan Embree, Mike Stanton, Kerry Lightenberg, Joe Borowski, John Rocker(who wasn't all that bad). Not just lights out starters he produced