Blue Jays’ Cox Leaves Land of the Freeze for the Home of the Braves

Bobby Cox, who this season managed the Toronto Blue Jays to their first American League East title, resigned Tuesday to become general manager of the Atlanta Braves.

“It was an extremely difficult decision to make because of the success we had in Toronto,” Cox said. “The people in Toronto treated me as good as a manager can be treated in my four years there.”

The Blue Jays won 99 games in capturing the AL East and were within one game of qualifying for the World Series, only to lose the last three games of the AL playoffs to the Kansas City Royals.

Cox managed the Braves from 1978 until he was fired after the 1981 season. He moved to the Toronto job in 1982. His family continued to live in Marietta, Ga., and he said that was a major reason for his decision to return to the Braves.

“My family is 20 miles north of the ballpark,” he said. “That was the biggest factor. I’ve always been a friend of (Atlanta owner) Ted Turner and felt someday I might go back.”

With the hiring of Cox, the Braves completed a new managerial team. Chuck Tanner was hired as field manager after resigning from a similar post with the Pittsburgh Pirates at the end of the season. Both received five-year contracts, with Cox’s worth a reported $1.8 million.

“We’ll work together as a team,” Tanner said. “Bob will have the last say. He’s the captain of the ship. We’re building a foundation for a long time and we want to put a ring on the finger of Ted Turner that says ‘world champions.’ ”

“Chuck and I can run the organization from top to bottom,” Cox said. “They wouldn’t have hired either Chuck or myself if they didn’t trust our judgment.”

Cox said he had no particular qualifications to be a general manager, but looked forward to the challenge of taking off the uniform.

“I kind of relate this to when my playing career was over,” he said. “Once you dive into a new job, you tend to forget the old one. I’ll stay busy, and apply myself. I won’t miss the dirt and the dirty uniform and the arguing with the umpires.”

John Mullen, who had been the Braves’ general manager, will remain with the organization in the front office. Al Thornwell, the club’s executive vice president, said Mullen will concentrate “on paperwork and waivers and the rules that make this job so complex.”

Cox said that as late as last Friday he had “no idea” he would be leaving Toronto.

“I went in to sign my (1986) contract last Friday,” Cox said. “We started talking and they said the Braves had requested permission to talk with me. I thought I owed it to myself to listen to what they had to say.

“I still didn’t think I’d be going. I didn’t know if I wanted to be a general manager.”

Cox said he met with Turner last weekend and the deal was sealed on Monday.

“We thought it was dead two and a half weeks ago when Toronto said they wanted him back and he said he wanted to stay,” Turner said.

“But it’s an unwritten rule in baseball that you grant permission if an employee can improve himself. You wouldn’t grant it for a lateral move--manager to manager, coach to coach, scout to scout.”

Cox said he will try to model the Braves after the Blue Jays.

“Toronto is one of the classiest organizations in baseball,” he said. “It’s a successful organization and team. It will be a prototype to follow.”

The Braves have declined steadily in recent years. Atlanta won the National League West title in 1982 and finished second in 1983. But a year later, the Braves slumped to an 80-82 record that cost Manager Joe Torre his job, and then hit bottom this season.

Under Eddie Haas and Bobby Wine, the Braves fell to 66-96, 29 games out of first place in the NL West. Haas was fired during the season and replaced by Wine who, in turn, was dismissed the day after the season ended.