Ross Peter Gload (born April 5, 1976) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for six teams over ten seasons.

High school/college career

Gload grew up in the

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

community of

Springs, New York Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) roughly corresponding to the hamlet by the same name in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States Census, the ...

, where he broke numerous high school and county home run records. After his record-breaking 1994 season for

East Hampton High School East Hampton High School is a high school in East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton, Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York, United States. Located on the east end of Long Island, the school is the easternmost high school in New ...

, Gload was honored with the "Carl Yastrzemski Award," which is annually awarded to the most outstanding high school baseball player in Suffolk County by the Suffolk County Baseball Coaches Association. His 41 career home runs, and 20 in the 1994 season alone, are New York state high school records. Perhaps his most memorable high school moment was the Suffolk County Championship game, where he single-handedly propelled East Hampton to the Long Island Championship with four moonshots off of Kings Park High School's left-handed starter Matthew Ligouri. Gload attended the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

, where he played under longtime Coach Eddie Cardieri. In 1995 and 1996, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Hyannis Mets The Hyannis Harbor Hawks, formerly the Hyannis Mets, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Harbor Hawks play ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

and was named a league all-star in 1996. He is a member of the USF Athletic Hall of Fame.

Major league career

Chicago Cubs

Gload was selected in the 13th round of the amateur draft by the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

. On July 31, 2000, at the trade deadline, he was dealt to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

along with minor leaguer Dave Noyce for Henry Rodriguez. Gload made his Major League debut August 31, with the Cubs. On September 12, 2001, he was claimed on waivers by the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

but did not play in any big league games that season.

New York Mets/Colorado Rockies

In January , Gload was involved in two deals with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

in a span of six days, first moving to the Mets in a three-team, 11-player trade, then having his contract purchased by Colorado from the Mets. Gload batted .258 with a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and four

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

in limited action with the Rockies.

Chicago White Sox

Just before the season, Gload moved on to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

organization, being acquired by Chicago for minor leaguer Wade Parrish. Gload did not appear in a Major League uniform in 2003, but in and again in , he saw significant duty with the White Sox. He batted .321 in 2004 with seven homers and 44 RBIs, finishing seventh in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

Rookie of the Year voting. In 2006, his numbers were .327 with three homers and 18 RBIs in fewer at-bats. He won his first

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

with the White Sox in 2005

Kansas City Royals

On December 16, 2006, Gload was traded to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

for

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

Andrew Sisco Andrew Frank Sisco (born January 13, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox, in the Korean Professional Baseball League for the KT Wiz, an ...

. In , with Kansas City, Gload logged career highs in at-bats and RBIs, being used as a starter more than in the past. He batted .288 with seven homers and 51 RBIs in 102 games. During the 2007–2008 offseason, Gload signed a two-year Major League contract with Kansas City.

Florida Marlins

On April 1, 2009, Gload was traded to the

for a player to be named later. Gload's batting entrance song is

Harvester of Sorrow "Harvester of Sorrow" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on August 28, 1988, as the first single from their fourth studio album, '' ...And Justice for All'' (1988). The song debuted at a live performance pr ...

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

. On May 22, 2009 Gload made his pitching debut, pitching a scoreless ninth inning versus the Tampa Bay Rays. He and

Wes Helms Wesley Ray Helms (born May 12, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. During his 13-year playing career, Helms played for the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Florida Marlins, and Philadelphia Phillies. He played primarily ...

set an MLB record for most pinch-hits by a duo.

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 15, 2009, Gload signed a 2-year, $2.6 million contract with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. In 2012, Gload's contract with the Phillies expired, making him a free agent.http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/.../ross_gload...fit.../9280268

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gload, Ross Baseball players from New York (state) Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Colorado Rockies players Kansas City Royals players Florida Marlins players Philadelphia Phillies players Major League Baseball first basemen Charlotte Knights players 1976 births Living people South Florida Bulls baseball players Sportspeople from Brooklyn Sportspeople from Suffolk County, New York Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Utica Blue Sox players Kane County Cougars players Brevard County Manatees players Portland Sea Dogs players Iowa Cubs players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Omaha Royals players Clearwater Threshers players People from Springs, New York East Hampton High School alumni