Simply The Best

Tell me about the great John J. McGraw.

He used to come to the terrace sometimes…in the olden days too.

His mind was on the horses, I think,
as much as it was on the baseball.

At least he used to carry lists
of horses in his pocket at all times.

And frequently, he would speak
the names of horses on the telephone.

He was a great manager.
My father thinks he was the greatest.

John McGraw’s mind wasn’t always on the horses. Sometimes it had to be on the baseball. He won 2,840 games, second to only Connie Mack. 131 times, McGraw was ejected from the game (14 of those while he was a player). Maybe those days his mind was on the horses. People always say that when a manager gets the boot, that it is a pick-me-up for the team; gives ‘em some inspiration. I don’t believe that, I think that sometimes a guy wants to leave work a little early.
I would like to see some stats about how many games were won/lost by teams the day their manager was tossed. Stats for the following day would be good also because the myth is that teams get a spark and that it carries over.

So, 131 times is quite a lot. It seemed to me to be one of the records that would never be broken.

This guy didn’t break it.

I would have thought that Earl Weaver had a shot but, he was shown the door only 98 times. Pretty good and he was memorable. I thought Earl would explode. You know, how you hear about those people that self-combust. I thought Weaver would do that arguing a close call at second. It would have been an all time showbiz exit. Nope, Earl was good, a legend, but not the best.

How about this guy?

I was shocked to find out that Lou Pinella is not even in the running. He’s only been ejected a paltry 58 times. Sweet Lou is all show and no go. The dirt kicking, the umpire shoving, ripping up the bases, it’s just window dressing. Hell, even Tony LaRussa has Pinella beat with 73. Lou really needs to kick his game up a notch, quit thinking about how he looks and produce some numbers.

So, who is the guy that finally equaled the great John J. McGraw? This guy…

That’s right, it’s Bobby Cox. Yesterday he was 86ed for the 131st time equaling John J. Actually he has already surpassed McGraw because only one of Cox’s early exits came as a player. Cox says he is more proud of being fourth on the all-time wins list but he is just being humble. This is a true accomplishment. And, he did it without all of the histrionics and tantrums. He is a guy that just goes about his work and gets the job done. Bobby Cox can now say, “I stand before you today, the greatest of all time”. And he’s not finished; the season isn’t half over yet. He could easily hit 135 by the end of the year. Who knows, if he has a couple of more campaigns in him then, 150 is definitely not out of the question.

There will never be another John J. McGraw but I’m going to say there will never be another Robert Joseph Cox either. His record will stand. So, here’s to you Bobby, you are the king of the hill.

By the way, the Braves lost to Detroit, 2-1.