The Bobby Cox: Record Holder, Most Ejections from a Baseball Game, Wife Beater

August 20, 2007

So Bobby Cox has finally passed the legendary John McGraw, and stands alone as the most tossed manager in the baseball history. He's at 133 and counting.

That's 133 times he's lost his temper to the point where his presence is no longer welcomed at the workplace. That's 133 incidences on the job, where the arbiters of truth, the baseball umpires, have found Cox's behavior to be completely unacceptable.

We know of at least one instance where Cox's behavior in the home was deemed exponentially more unacceptable. Only that time, the arbiters wore badges and carried guns, and the heave-ho was accentuated with handcuffs.

Am I the only person on the planet who sees the correlation? Sure seems that way. Sure seems like the sports media, en masse, has celebrated Cox's achievement, with the most common reaction being a jolly laugh.

Well no, my friends. I'm sorry, but this is not funny stuff here. Cox does not get a free pass for the rest of his life. He's a wife beater. It's part of his bio.

I'm not saying that Cox's criminal history needs to be addressed each and every time his name comes up in the news. Of course not. But it certainly should be mentioned sometime, once in a blue moon, and someplace other than just here.

Do a Google search. Spend hours upon hours looking and you'll be hard pressed to find a single syllable on the subject that doesn't link to this site. It's absolutely mind boggling.

Cox was arrested for battery in 1995, around the time of the O.J. Simpson trial, when women were finally starting to talk openly and in public about domestic abuse. A critical mass, if you will, was underway, and it was making a difference.

Then here comes Bobby Cox, who, perhaps along with the Atlanta Braves, managed to turn the whole thing around, essentially getting Mrs. Cox to take responsibility for the fight and subsequent 911 call.

Cox was a public figure, after all, so the best thing to do, critical mass be damned, was to sweep it under the rug, as had been done countless times by important and unimportant husbands, down through the annals of time. Warren Moon's strategy, you may recall, was nearly identical, and also in the mid-1990s, with his domestic abuse case, which actually went to trial.

Cox's finagling his way out of a criminal mess made his original abuse that much worse for his wife. It's as if she was abused a second time, which is not uncommon for victims generally.

Being called out by an Internet baseball scribe, and perhaps a tiny group of others, once a year or so is an extremely small price to pay. Cox can continue with his temper tantrums on the diamond, and some may get a chuckle when he's directed to leave the premises. I won't be one of them.
He was a poor excuse for a man then. A poor excuse for a man with a record, I might add. The difference now is simply that he has a second record…

Talkback: Your comments are always encouraged...

Google Search: OK, I just checked Google again, this time using the search words "Bobby Cox" + "arrest." Try it at home sometime, and find Cox's name linked with Jose Offerman's...

Dodgers Hopes Improving: I'm not saying the Dodgers are going to win a World Championship in 2007, or even a division race, but during the weekend series victory against Colorado, the club did shows signs of life. And just plain signs.

In any successful baseball campaign, there are certain unexpected occurrences which qualify as signs. A mid-August, two-hit, masterful winning performance from someone like Eric Stults is one of those signs. A game winning two-run single by someone like Ramon Martinez is one of those signs.

Though the club lost a heartbreaker Saturday night, Rudy Seanez escaping a bases loaded, no out situation in extra innings is one of those signs.

Going back further, a gimpy Derek Lowe weaving a brilliant seven-inning, zero walk shutout of the Astros Thursday is one of those signs.

You have to have those kinds of things occur in order to get to the postseason, and as last year's St. Louis Cardinals proved, once you get there, anything can happen.

By the way, Ramon Martinez is a much better hitter than his .180 batting average shows. And he's the type of player you can rely upon to make a huge play at a crucial point in a season-changing game, at any of three positions.

The Dodgers have made a step in the right direction. A small step, but a step in the right direction…

Webb's Gems: Brandon Webb is a bleeping stud. His consecutive scoreless innings streak of 42 puts him exactly two shutouts away from breaking Orel Hershiser's record. And like Orel, Webb is doing it during a pennant race. Absolutely stunning.

On the other side of the coin, Eric Gagne looks as though a consecutive scored upon innings streak may be in his future…

Media Savvy: We love Vin Scully, and we don't want to make too big a point about this, but it's disappointing to hear him concentrating on the wild card now.

Yahoo Sports baseball writer Jeff Passan's article on Jack Hamilton and Tony Conigliaro is required reading. Passan captures the story perfectly, and I remember that famous photo on the cover of Conigliaro's book, which I read as kid, like it was yesterday…

Statue for Sandy: The Koufax in bronze campaign continues. Please Vote “Yes on 32.” And tell a friend…

Remember, glove conquers all....

....................