Quiet Competence : Braves Are a Reflection of Their Low-Key Manager Bobby Cox

There is nothing fancy about the man.

His idea of flamboyance is changing the polish on his dress shoes. His idea of extravagance is sour cream and chives on his baked potato. His idea of lavishness is driving his car through the $3.50 car wash.

There’s nothing extraordinary about the man, but Bobby Cox, manager of the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves, may just be the best in the business.

“It’s amazing in this day and age, when everybody is focused on individualism, wanting their own space and wearing their own jewelry, there is Bobby,” said John Schuerholz, Atlanta’s executive vice president.

“Bobby’s style is so dramatically understated. People have the tendency to look around him, and through him, but he goes about his business in such a low-key fashion that he doesn’t get a lot of attention.”

But Cox has led the Braves to 550 victories in the last six years, most of any team. He has led the Braves to six division titles, three pennants and a World Series championship since 1991. He is the first National League manager to have led his team to the playoffs five consecutive seasons.

Yet when the voting is conducted once again for the National League manager of the year, Cox probably won’t finish in the top three.

“It’s unfortunate, as great a manager as he is,” Atlanta pitcher Tom Glavine said. “He never gets the recognition. When we win, it’s that we’re supposed to win. He never gets any credit. But when we lose, people point the finger at him.”

Cox, 55, who was a principal architect of the Braves as general manager before returning to the field, is respected by his players.

“If you can’t play for him, you can’t play for anyone,” first baseman Fred McGriff said. “He never shows you up. He never rips you in the papers. And he makes sure you play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.

“I’d play for him, any time, anyplace.”

But then, respect for Cox extends all through baseball.

The Dodgers, as they will tell you, are the most hated team in the National League. And no one hates anyone more in the American League than the Yankees.

Yet the Braves have built a dynasty in the 90s and there is no one who has a cross word to say about them.

“Maybe we don’t do anything on the field to dislike the way we play,” shortstop Jeff Blauser said. “I don’t think we’ve ever been arrogant, flashy or outwardly cocky. I think we’re quietly confident.

“That very much reflects the style of Bobby and the rest of the coaching staff.”

When the Braves walk onto the field, their caps are never turned backward. Their uniform shirts are tucked in. There are no earrings. They’re all on the top dugout step for the national anthem. And then they go out and play the best baseball they can without ever showing anyone up.

“That’s a big thing to me,” said Cox. “You’re paid to be a professional. Then act like a professional. That’s just me.

“It’s just like people ask me if I’m concerned about lack of recognition. That doesn’t bother me one bit. I’m not the show. The players are the show.”

When the Braves won the World Series last year, players sprayed champagne on one another but Cox was nowhere among them. He was in his office, quietly celebrating with his wife and family.

“I think he’s got the respect of everyone in baseball,” Dodger third base coach Joey Amalfitano said. “I know he has mine. That club reflects the personality of the manager. They conduct themselves very professional, very businesslike.”

Cox, who left the Toronto Blue Jays after the 1985 season to become general manager of the Braves, was largely responsible for drafting and developing many of the Braves’ players. Yet he was considered such a marvelous manager that Schuerholz, then at Kansas City, tried to hire him after Royal Manager Dick Howser became terminally ill with brain cancer.

“I thought he was one of the best managers in baseball when he was a general manager, so that tells you what I think of him now,” Schuerholz said.

Who knows, perhaps another World Series championship, and Cox will get his due.

“It won’t matter to Bobby,” said third base Coach Jimy Williams, a childhood friend who replaced Cox as manager in Toronto. “That’s just not style. He’ll continue to do his work behind the scenes.

“If somebody recognizes him for that, great. If nobody does, Bobby won’t care a bit.

“That’s just Bobby.”