FILE - Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox smiles while talking to reporters during team practice at Turner Field in Atlanta, Oct. 4, 2005. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke, File)

ATLANTA — Bobby Cox, the folksy manager of the Atlanta Braves whose teams ruled the National League during the 1990s and gave the city its first major title as well as World Series trips that fell short, died Saturday. He was 84.

Cox died in Marietta, Georgia, according to the Atlanta Braves. He had a stroke in 2019 and heart issues that complicated his recovery.

“Bobby was the best manager to ever wear a Braves uniform. He led our team to 14 straight division titles, five National League pennants, and the unforgettable World Series title in 1995. His Braves managerial legacy will never be matched,” the Braves said in a statement.

Cox took over a last-place team in June 1990 and led the Braves to a worst-to-first finish in 1991, losing the World Series to the Minnesota Twins in seven games. That was the start of what was to become a record 14 consecutive division titles, a feat no professional team in any sport had accomplished.

He managed the Braves for 25 years and led Atlanta to its first World Series title in 1995, retired after the 2010 season and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.

Cox ranks fourth all-time with 2,504 wins, fifth with 4,508 games, first with 15 division titles including a record 14 in a row, first with 16 playoff appearances and fourth with 67 playoff victories. Only Connie Mack, John McGraw and Tony La Russa had more regular-season wins than Cox.

“He was the first one to the park every day,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said of Cox. “He’d have his spikes on at 12 o’clock. I never saw a manager wear spikes, but that was one of Bobby’s trademarks. He just loved the game. He loved the game, and he loved leading a group of men trying to win a championship.”

Cox also was first in being ejected from 158 regular-season games. Weiss, who called Cox instrumental in bringing him back to the Braves as a bench coach, was asked if he might get tossed in Cox’s honor.

“It’s a different game now, you know, a very different era,” Weiss said. “Nobody can do it like Bobby, believe me.”

Cox’s death came four days after that of fellow Atlanta icon Ted Turner, who as owner of Braves lured Cox back to the team in 1990.

The Braves retired Cox’s No. 6 jersey in 2011, when he joined the team’s Hall of Fame.

“RIP my second father,” Andruw Jones wrote on social media. The 10-time Gold Glove winner with Atlanta in July will become the sixth who played for Cox with the Braves to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Cox spent 29 seasons as a major league manager, including four with Toronto. He managed 16 postseason teams. He brought an old-school approach to the dugout. He always wore spikes and stirrups, and his fatherly demeanor inspired loyalty from his players.

Cole rehabs in EL

READING — Gerrit Cole struck out eight over five innings in his fifth minor league injury rehabilitation start Sunday as he works his way back to the New York Yankees.

The right-hander allowed three runs — two earned — and four hits while walking one for Double-A Somerset in a 6-1 loss at Reading, a Philadelphia Phillies affiliate. He threw 51 of 77 pitches for strikes, up from 69 pitches in his previous outing last Tuesday.

Cole has a 5.32 ERA over 23ª innings.

Tolle honors mom

BOSTON — Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle took the Fenway Park mound on Sunday afternoon with a heavy heart.

Pitching two years and a day after his mother, Jina, died following a nearly eight-year battle with colon cancer, the 23-year-old Tolle wore his pant legs near his knees showing his pink socks on Mother’s Day.

When his start was rained out Saturday, Tolle had a lot more time to think about what pitching the next day would be like.

“This week is really tough for me. I’m not going to lie to you,” he said, holding back tears after Boston’s 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Betts returning

LOS ANGELES — Mookie Betts is set to return after missing more than a month because of a right oblique strain when the Los Angeles Dodgers open a four-game series against the San Francisco Giants tonight.

Betts hasn’t played since April 4, when he was hurt in a 10-5 win at Washington. Manager Dave Roberts said he will have Betts hit second or third in the batting order despite hitting .179 with two home runs and seven RBIs in eight games before the injury.