With Barry Bonds depressingly close to breaking Hank Aaron's record, we turn our eyes to a much more noble and compelling all-time mark: Bobby Cox's quest to beat baseball's ejections record. He has been tossed 128 times, three away from John McGraw; our favorite stat is that he's 32 games away from being ejected for an entire season. He's not happy about the achievement, however.

"It's kind of embarrassing," Cox said. He would prefer this moment in history pass without notice, like a series of unintended oops moments. No ceremony, no handshake, no umpire expressing he's No. 1 (wrong finger). Asked how often he leaves the dugout knowing that he'll probably get thrown out when he reaches his target, he said: "Just about every time."

The ritual of an umpire ejecting a spittle-spewing manager is another one of those quaint, charming things that make us love baseball. Bobby Cox is an all-time champion, and we salute his Iron Man-like persistence.

Cox Isn't Proud Of Ejections[AJC Blogs]