TORONTO — Bobby Cox took over as Toronto Blue Jays manager at a pivotal time for the young franchise, the dire days of the first expansion seasons in the past, a critical mass of talent transitioning to the majors. 

Roy Hartsfield had overseen three consecutive 100-plus loss years out of the gate that helped GM Pat Gillick build a farm system that became the envy of baseball. Bobby Mattick, the scouting and player development guru, followed with two years of helping young players get their feet wet.

But by the end of the 1981 season, the Blue Jays were ready for a manager to help mould them into the contender they had the potential to become. Cox, close friends with Gillick from their days together in player development with the New York Yankees, got the job and did precisely that. 

In 1982, Cox’s first season at the helm, the Blue Jays went 78-84 to climb out of the AL East basement for the first time, won 89 games in each of the next two seasons before clinching the division for the first time in 1985, with a still-franchise best 99 wins. 

“Bobby instilled winning,” said Howard Starkman, the team’s longtime communications head who retired in 2014 as the organization's longest-serving employee. “We were only eight years into the business and all of a sudden we were one win from having the World Series at Exhibition Stadium, which would have been incredible. Bobby knew how........

© Sportsnet