Heartwarming Bobby Cox clubhouse moment is exactly what the 2024 Braves needed

It was great to see Bobby Cox at Truist Park on Saturday night. The former Atlanta Braves skipper was healthy enough to watch his beloved team play in-person, taking home a well-earned 5-1 victory over those delightful Philadelphia Phillies. Cox, who has been a baseball hall of famer for over a decade now, last managed the 2010 Braves. One of his greatest disciples was Atlanta manager Brian Snitker.

After being shown on the Jumbotron to all of Braves Country during the game, Cox made his way down to the Atlanta clubhouse to meet some of the players. Outside of 40-something pitchers Jesse Chavez and Charlie Morton who played for him, the same cannot be said for much of the team. Many of whom had never even met the man. To meet Snitker's greatest baseball mentor had to be special.

Here is Snitker's quote on what it meant to him to have Cox come down to the clubhouse Saturday.

"It was awesome. I brought him in the clubhouse ... you don't realize, none of these guys have ever met him. Everybody went u, introduced themselves, we took a team picture ... that was really special."

Not enough can be said for what Cox means to Braves baseball. The former New York Yankees infielder got his big break in the late 1970s to manage the Braves. He left for Toronto in the early 1980s and had success there, before returning to Atlanta in a general manager role. After drafting Chipper Jones No. 1 overall in 1990, Cox came down from the suite and into the Braves dugout.

From 1990 to 2010, Cox was a staple in the Atlanta dugout, getting the most out of his many players.

From rampant ejections to winning champions, Cox's passion for the game of baseball was unrivaled.

Bobby Cox's Atlanta Braves game appearance is what this team needed

Cox famously guided Atlanta to 14 straight division titles from 1991 to 2005. With the many changes to the game, that will never be replicated. Snitker's Braves may have won the last six NL East crowns, but No. 7 does not seem to be so lucky. They are currently nine games back of Philadelphia, but firmly in the driver's seat to make the postseason as a wild card team. Cox had been the ultimate galvanizer.

I think what this means for the Braves is more inspired baseball. Cox is a man Snitker constantly brings up. He tought him how to play baseball with dignity, class and win the right way. Being able to get your players to play hard six days a week for six months on end is a brutal ask, yet Cox, and now Snitker, usually find a way. During the dog days, it gets hard, but all it takes is one moment to spark.

If Cox was managing this team, he would tell his players to F those guys in the other dugout and just go play some damn good baseball. Keep in mind that he was the manager who helped Atlanta overcome a 10-game deficit to the San Francisco Giants in the last great pennant race of 1993. They did lose to Philadelphia in the NLCS, but Atlanta won its first World Championship two seasons later.

Cox's managerial style was often critiqued, but he knew the law of averages and he knew how to win.