The New York Yankees' Joe Torre managed the Atlanta Braves a generation ago. Braves manager Bobby Cox played for the Yankees two generations ago. Their players like them, and they like each other. His Yankees won their third Series in four years with Wednesday's 4-1 victory. Cox's Braves lost their fourth World Series in five tries in the 1990s.
History is a harsh judge.
It smiles on Torre and anoints him a genius. It turns its back on Cox. Which is totally unfair. And exactly how it is anyway. If every World Series is a tale of two cities, it is also a tale of two managers.