Bobby Cox is easy to cheer for as he continues his recovery from a stroke

Bill Shanks reminds everyone to continue to have Bobby Cox in your thoughts and prayers as the Hall of Fame skipper recovers from a stroke he had a year ago.

THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN LAST YEAR RIGHT AFTER BOBBY COX SUFFERED A STROKE. ALWAYS KEEP BOBBY IN YOUR PRAYERS AND HOPE THE SKIPPER CONTINUES TO GET WELL!

The thought of Bobby Cox laying in a hospital bed, struggling to speak after suffering a stroke Tuesday is difficult to comprehend. Fact is, he’s lucky to be alive, and for that we must be thankful.

If Cox’s neighbor had not been home, who knows what might have happened. After Cox started feeling ill, he made a 50-foot track to his neighbor’s house, who immediately sensed something serious was wrong and called 911. Less than an hour later, Cox was in surgery.

He’s alive, and that’s the most important thing. He’s got a long recovery ahead of him, but like has been said all week, if anyone can do it, Bobby can.

This man is on the Mount Rushmore of Georgia Sports. We can’t fit all the Braves stars on there, so the man who managed most of them belongs instead. He is Braves baseball, from his start as manager 41 years ago to the presence he still had just a day before his stroke when he started the home season by saying, “Play Ball.”

Cox managed Phil Niekro and then prepared the young group of stars to win a division in 1982, even though he had been fired the previous offseason by Ted Turner. It was Turner who brought him back three years later to be the general manager and then promptly got out of the way to allow Cox to build a dynasty in the 1990s.

Maybe if Turner had not hired Chuck Tanner first in 1985, Cox would have instead been the manager. History shows it was a stroke of luck, as Cox instead took off his uniform and learned how to wear a suit and tie as an executive. And the decision he made to transform the Braves into a pitching-first organization changed the course of the franchise.

We know what happened next. Cox went back to the dugout to lead what he had constructed. Then he became a Hall of Fame manager.

That’s the professional resume. The personal resume is just as impressive.

In 2004, I was interviewing Adam LaRoche, who was getting ready to take over as Atlanta’s first baseman. He was the one who convinced me just how special Cox was to his players. “We’d do anything for that man,” LaRoche told me. “We all love him.”

Maybe that was because he’d do anything for them. Probably most of those record-setting ejections were Cox simply taking up for his guys. We heard through the dugout microphones his constant cheering for his players. “Come on Chip (for Chipper Jones)” or “Let’s go AJ” (for Andruw Jones) or how about “Get us started Fookie” (for Rafael Furcal).

We loved his nicknames, as they were terms of endearment.

About 15 years ago, I was at Shea Stadium covering the Braves and was lingering in the dugout with some players after batting practice. It started getting uncomfortably close to game time, so I was trying to get back to the press box. Then Cox comes out of the clubhouse, and I thought he might be upset that I was standing there with a player probably 15 minutes before first pitch.

“Hey Shanksie,” he instead barked out, simply acting like he was happy to see me.

“Hey Skipper,” I answered back in shock.

He had taken my name and given me a nickname. I could have died right there.

Yeah, he was a great manager. He is a great baseball man, but Robert Joe Cox is also a great man. Find someone who might have a bad word to say about him (other than a few umpires) and it might make history.

This mountain of a man, this Hall of Famer, has always simply been human to people. Respect is the one thing you’ll always hear people say. He gave his players respect, and they’d give it right back to him.

That’s why he always had their back. And now, when he needs it the most, everyone who is lucky enough to know him (even a little bit) or those who have simply watched him through many decades, have his back in praying for his recovery. 

Listen to The Bill Shanks Show weekdays at 3:00 p.m. ET on Middle Georgia’s ESPN. You can listen online at TheSuperStations.com. Follow Bill on Twitter at @billshanks and you can email him at thebillshanksshow@yahoo.com.