Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa faced off for the final time 28 years after first matchup

Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa squared off last night for the 161st and final time, 28 years after their first matchup on May 4, 1982. With a 94-67 record Cox has had the clear upper hand in essentially one full season’s worth of games against La Russa, although La Russa is 34-33 against Cox since 2000 and as Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post Dispatch notes also has a 6-4 record versus Cox in the postseason. La Russa called the 69-year-old and soon-to-be-retiring Cox “a great competitor” whose “class is off the chart” and added “I hope he gets to the postseason.” La Russa and Cox rank third and fourth all time with 2,626 and 2,495 victories, respectively, winning more games than any managers in baseball history except Connie Mack and John McGraw.