Thank you, Bobby Cox. I could say that a thousand times and it wouldn’t be enough. You have never met me, never said a word to me, never directly associated with me whatsoever, yet you have given me so much. My name is Vishal Aggarwal and am 21 years old. I was born and raised in Atlanta and was born and raised a Braves fan. You have been the manager of the Braves since 1990, so you have been the only Braves manager in my memory.
Everyone knows of your accomplishments, 14 straight division titles, 5 World Series appearances, 1 World Series title, fourth all-time wins leader, 4-time Manager of the Year, and the list can go on and on. Of all of your amazing numbers, the most meaningful to me is the 2,213 regular season and postseason wins as the Atlanta Braves manager. You have stuck with the Braves for two full decades even after they had previously fired you as a manager. I have always respected loyalty and you are one of the best examples of it.
I want to thank you for leading the Braves to 14 straight division titles throughout the 90s and early 2000s. Thank you for giving me a playoff caliber team to root for every year. There were many teams you coached that should not have done nearly as well as they did. You gave me a team that outperformed my expectations year after year. As a child, I took our winning for granted and didn’t realize how remarkable winning 14 consecutive division titles was. Now I realize how amazing it is to have a great team to root for every year. You gave that to me. You gave me to ability to wish for the Atlanta Braves winning the World Series for every birthday wish and actually believing it could happen. As a kid, my mom would tell me when I prayed I could ask for anything I want. Not once did I ask for a toy or game. I asked for the Braves to do well every time because I knew that would make me happier than any toy ever could. You gave me that happiness because the Braves did do well thanks to you.
I want to thank you for giving me my love for sports. You could ask anyone who knows me and they could tell you how much sports means to me. I owe that love to you and the Braves. Baseball was the first sport I ever watched and the Braves were the first team I ever loved. You gave me that team. My life wouldn’t be the same without sports and I would have sports in my life if it weren’t for your Braves teams.
I want to thank you for all of the great memories you given me. David Justice’s home run in game 6 of the 1995 World Series. Marquis Grissom’s final catch of that game to win the World Series. Javy Lopez running to Wohlers and jumping on him with the rest of the team coming to join. The Braves coming back in the ‘96 NLCS demolishing the Cardinals in game 7 to go to the World Series. Watching dozens of champagne celebrations after big wins. There was nothing I wanted more than to be able to be in the clubhouse for one of those celebrations. Thank you for all those moments.
But the memories I cherish most did not come from great plays on the field. They came with watching over a thousand baseball games with my dad. I grew up loving the Braves ever since I can remember thanks to my dad. Baseball was the only sport he ever watched and he passed down his love for the game to me. We used to watch the game every night together. We would be depressed together when the Braves lost, and cheer and celebrate together when they did well. We would get riled up together every time we saw you come out of the dugout to argue a call. We would sit in confusion together when you would leave a pitcher in a game when he clearly should have been pulled out. I guess that is just your loyalty again and you showing your pitchers that you trust them. Sometimes you were right, sometimes you were wrong, but every time you gave my dad and me a chance to bond. We were always closer than ever when we were watching a Braves game. We never had a lot in common and never had a vast array of conversation topics. We had Braves baseball. You gave us that common interest.
We got to go to your final game as a coach together. We were able to talk about the Braves, baseball, and the greatness of Bobby Cox one final time with you as a coach. You brought us together one last time to give us one more memory. We will have more memories together with the Braves without you as the manager, but we wouldn’t be able to have them if it weren’t for you. Thank you. You gave us hundreds of bonding moments and perhaps more to come. You and what you did for the Braves brought me closer to my dad than anything else. You gave me my relationship with my dad. I want to thank you for that.
You have affected my life in so many different ways. I will never be able to repay you for everything you have given me. I stood there as the last out of your career was made and watched the end of an era. There is no way to describe how I felt. I had a wave of emotions hit me all at once. Along with the rest of the crowd, I chanted your name trying to hold back my tears. You came out of the dugout, tipped your cap, and I cheered as loud as could through my quivering voice. I had chills run down my body giving me goosebumps. I couldn’t believe this was going to be the last time I would see you as the manager of the Braves. Then you walked back down the tunnel one final time. I stood there and watched as tears flowed down my cheeks. Thank you for that feeling. Thank you for the memories. Thank you for everything. Thank you.
