Cox climbs rankings with win No. 1,600

After leading his team to the most wins in the 1990s, Braves’ manager Bobby Cox was well on his way to a Hall of Fame resume by 2000.

On Aug. 30, 2000, Cox furthered his Hall of Fame case by collecting his 1,600th win as a manager, passing Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda for 14th on the all-time list.

Cox secured win No. 1,599 on Aug. 25, but the Braves lost a season-high four straight games following that contest against the Cardinals. Coming into their game with the Reds on Aug. 30, the Braves were locked in a tie with the Mets in the NL East after sitting in first place from April 26 to Aug. 27.

Looking to end the streak, Cox turned the ball over to future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine.

The Braves jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Chipper Jones RBI double that scored Andruw Jones. Though Glavine surrendered an RBI single to Chris Sexton in the top of the second, Braves catcher Javy Lopez quickly took back the lead with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the inning.

The Braves would pound out 14 hits and five runs in the win after totaling five runs and 14 hits in the two games prior. The five runs were more than enough to notch Cox win No. 1,600.

“I forgot about it,” Cox said to the Associated Press after the game. “Someone said something about wins as I was coming down the tunnel. I thought Tommy (Glavine) had done something.”

Glavine, backed by the early run support, needed just 106 pitches to finish off the Reds. The lefty threw a complete game, giving up three hits and two runs en route to stopping the losing streak.

“That was a good sign for us,” Cox said to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “It feels good to win one.”

The win was the jolt the Braves needed as they would win the division by just one game over the Mets, though the Braves would later be eliminated in the NLDS by the Cardinals.

Cox, a Tulsa, Okla., native, would go on to manage 10 more seasons with the Braves and retired after leading the Braves back to the postseason in 2010.

During his time as Atlanta’s skipper, he led the Braves to 14 straight division titles from 1991 to 2005, a run that included a World Series title in 1995. In the 1990s, Cox’s Braves tallied more regular season wins (925) and World Series appearances (five) than any other club in baseball.