David Wade Ross (born March 19, 1977) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

who is the current

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

for 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 locate ...

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 (A ...

(MLB). He played for 15 seasons in

. Ross played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest ...

and the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

and participated in two

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

. He started his major league career playing for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

in 2002 and also played for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

, and

. Ross had two World Series wins, one with the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

and the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. The Cubs named him their manager prior to the 2020 season.

Early years

Ross was born in

Bainbridge, Georgia Bainbridge is a city in Decatur County, Georgia, United States. The city is the county seat of Decatur County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 14,468. History The first European settlement in what is today Bainbridge was a tra ...

, in 1977, but was raised in Tallahassee, Florida. He was born into a family of athletes—his father, David Ross Sr., played in a men's softball league, and his mother, Jackie, played basketball. Ross's uncles were both football players in college. He attended

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

laboratory school A laboratory school or demonstration school is an elementary or secondary school operated in association with a university, college, or other teacher education institution and used for the training of future teachers, educational experimentation, ...

Florida High School Florida State University School (FSUS) is a laboratory school located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is sponsored by Florida State University and works in close collaboration with the Florida State University College of Education. T ...

, in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...

, where he played high school baseball for the Florida High School Demons. Ross is one of five children; he has an older sister, Shannon, and a younger sister, Nikki.

College career

Ross received an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United ...

to attend Auburn University in

Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama, with a 2020 population of 76,143. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population ...

, where he played for the

Auburn Tigers baseball The Auburn Tigers baseball team represents Auburn University in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Auburn athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Western division of the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers p ...

team from 1996–1997. In 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

Brewster Whitecaps The Brewster Whitecaps are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brewster, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Whitecaps play their home games at Stony Brook ...

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 ...

. The defining moment of his college career came in the semifinal of the East Regional tournament during the 1997 College World Series when he hit a walk-off three-run home run against

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the sta ...

to advance to the regional final. The Auburn Tigers would advance to the College World Series, getting knocked out in the 2nd round by

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. S ...

. He transferred to the University of Florida after the 1997 season, and played one additional season of college baseball for the

Florida Gators baseball The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of baseball. Florida competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

team in 1998. Ross is one of the few players to have played in the

with two different colleges, first with the Tigers in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, and then the Gators in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. Ross decided to forgo his final season of

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) eligibility after his junior season with the Gators, when he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Playing career

Los Angeles Dodgers

Ross was drafted in the 19th round of the 1995 amateur draft by the

, but did not sign and accepted a scholarship to attend Auburn University instead. In 1998, the Dodgers drafted Ross again, this time in the seventh round. Ross made his MLB debut on June 29, 2002, striking out as a pinch hitter. On September 2, 2002, with the Dodgers leading 18–0, the Diamondbacks put first baseman

Mark Grace Mark Eugene Grace (born June 28, 1964) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who spent 12 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and three seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League (NL). He was a member of the 2001 Wor ...

in to pitch after he volunteered, to rest the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

. Ross hit his first major league home run off Grace with two outs in the 9th inning, capping a 19–1 win. Ross's Dodger career was stalled, however, by the large number of catchers in the Dodger system.

Paul Lo Duca Paul Anthony Lo Duca (born April 12, 1972) is an American retired professional baseball player and television personality. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers (–), Florida Marlins (2004–, ), New York ...

was the starting catcher through most of Ross's time in Los Angeles, and teammates like

Brent Mayne Brent Danem Mayne (born April 19, 1968) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1990 to 2004 for the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco G ...

, Koyie Hill, and

Todd Hundley Todd Randolph Hundley (born May 27, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball catcher and outfielder. He was a two-time All-Star who played for 14 seasons with the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs. Early life Hundley was born i ...

competed with him for playing time. Ross stayed with the team until 2004.

Pittsburgh Pirates / San Diego Padres

The Dodgers sold Ross's contract to the

on March 30, 2005. After 40 games with the Pirates, he was traded to the

on July 28, 2005 for

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

J. J. Furmaniak. He played in 11 games with the Padres.

Cincinnati Reds

The Padres traded Ross to the

during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

for the 2006 season. On January 15, 2006, Ross signed a two-year, $4.54 million contract with the Reds. While Ross was most often used as the "personal catcher" for right-hander

Bronson Arroyo Bronson Anthony Arroyo (born February 24, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and musician. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates between 2000 and 2002, the Boston Red Sox from 2003 to 2005, the ...

, whom the Reds received in a spring training trade with the

for

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 ...

Wily Mo Peña Wily Modesto Peña Gutierrez (born January 23, 1982) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, Washington National ...

, the consensus among Reds fans was that Ross had proven himself deserving of being the everyday catcher due to his better offensive numbers and that one of the other Reds catchers,

Jason LaRue Michael Jason "Rusty" LaRue (born March 19, 1974) is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals. Biography A native of Bulverde, Texas, after being selected in the fifth ...

Javier Valentín José Javier Valentín Rosario (born September 19, 1975) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher. From -, he played for the Cincinnati Reds after playing with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays () and four brief stints for the Minnesota Tw ...

, should have been traded (possibly as part of a package deal) for a

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, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

. LaRue was the one most frequently cited, but no deal was made by the July 31 trade deadline. On November 20, 2006, LaRue 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 a player to be named later. Ross's 2007 season started with four hits in 38

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s with no home runs and 17

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is den ...

s. On April 21, 2007, his slump hit rock-bottom when with runners on first and second base, he grounded into a rare 5–4–3 triple play against 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 ...

. Ross finished the 2007 season with a .203

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and 17 home runs. On August 10, 2008, Ross was designated for assignment and was released on August 18.

Boston Red Sox

Ross signed a minor-league contract with the

on August 22, 2008. He came up to the MLB club on August 29 and became a free agent after the season.

Atlanta Braves

The

signed Ross to a two-year, $3 million deal on December 5, 2008. In 2009, Ross hit .273 in 54 games. On July 27, 2010, he signed a two-year extension to stay with the Braves through 2012. He managed to hit a career-high .289 for the Braves in 59 games in 2010. Ross was the Atlanta Braves secondary catcher behind Brian McCann for his four seasons with the Braves. His hot start in the 2011 season (hitting .333 after starting seven games, with three home runs) highlighted his strengths, as Ross has always been known as a strong defensive catcher (in 2009, he committed one

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

in 52 games). Ross hit the first ever home run in the

Wild Card Game The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason. A single wild card game was first instituted in 2012; best-of-three ...

when the new playoff format was introduced in 2012.

Boston Red Sox (second stint)

Ross signed a two-year, $6.2 million deal on November 10, 2012, to return to the Red Sox as "more than a backup but not a starter" behind primary catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Ross suffered two concussions during the 2013 season and spent over two months on the disabled list; however, his health returned and he played a key role in Boston's run to the World Series championship over the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

that year, starting in four games during the series and driving in the game-winning run with an RBI double in Game 5. He was also behind the plate to catch the series-clinching out in Game 6 when

Koji Uehara is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He previously played for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), as well as the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (M ...

struck out Matt Carpenter. In 2014, Ross played as

Jon Lester Jonathan Tyler Lester (born January 7, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals. L ...

's personal catcher.

Chicago Cubs

The

announced on December 23, 2014, that they had signed Ross to a two-year, $5 million contract. On May 9, 2015, in his first appearance as a pitcher in his professional baseball career, Ross recorded a perfect inning against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. On July 26, he repeated the feat against the

, then led off the next inning by hitting a home run off of Héctor Neris. On April 21, 2016, Ross caught his first no-hitter, against the Cincinnati Reds, his former team, with starting pitcher Jake Arrieta. Ross hit his 100th career home run off of Adam Morgan of the Philadelphia Phillies on May 27, 2016. Ross announced his plans to retire following the 2016 season, after playing 15 seasons in the major leagues. During Game 7 of the 2016 MLB World Series against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

, Ross hit a home run, making him the oldest player to do so in World Series history at 39 years old. The Cubs went on to win Game 7 8-7 in 10 innings, earning Ross his second World Series ring. On January 14, 2017, the Cubs named Ross as a special assistant to baseball operations for the 2017 season.

Kansas Stars

Following his retirement from the MLB, Ross joined the

Kansas Stars The Kansas Stars are an independent baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas, in the United States. The Stars were formed in 2016 to take part in the 2016 National Baseball Congress World Series, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball ...

, an independent baseball team made of former MLB stars who play an abbreviated tournament lasting a few weeks out of the year.

Post-playing career

The Cubs named Ross a special assistant after his retirement.

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

hired Ross as a baseball

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...

in January 2017.

Managerial career

On October 24, 2019, the Cubs hired Ross as their manager to replace

Joe Maddon Joseph John Maddon (born February 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball manager and coach. He has managed the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball. Maddon began his coaching career in MLB ...

, signing him to a three-year contract. Ross began his managerial career on July 24, 2020 with a 3–0 win at home against the

. On March 11, 2022, the Cubs announced they agreed to a contract extension with Ross through the 2024 season. The deal includes a club option for the 2025 season as well.

Managerial record

''Dancing with the Stars''

On March 1, 2017, Ross was revealed as one of the contestants on season 24 of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

'' and was paired with professional dancer Lindsay Arnold. Ross is the first professional baseball player ever to compete on the show. Despite only having the sixth-highest scoring average, Ross and Arnold outlasted higher-scoring couples and ended up placing runner-up to winner

Rashad Jennings Rashad Andre Jennings (born March 26, 1985) is an American football running back and coach for the Fan Controlled Football Kingpens. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He also played for the ...

and partner Emma Slater.

Personal life

Ross is divorced from Hyla Ross as of 2020. Together they have three children. As of 2016, they resided in Tallahassee, Florida. Ross is a Christian. He has worked with several Chicago charities, including Cradles to Crayons, that benefits underprivileged Chicago youth. Ross worked with author

Don Yaeger Don Yaeger is an American author and public speaker. He is an NSA- Certified Speaking Professional and eSpeakers-Certified Virtual Speaker. He has authored and co-authored 30 books, including 11 New York Times best-sellers. Yaeger graduated from ...

, on a book titled ''Teammate: My Life in Baseball,'' which was published in May 2017. Ross has made an appearance on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

,'' along with some of his teammates, to celebrate the Cubs championship win. Ross has also made an appearance in the recent commercials for "The Bryzzo Souvenir Company" as an intern trying to meet the standards and requests of his bosses, Kris Bryant and

Anthony Rizzo Anthony Vincent Rizzo (born August 8, 1989) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs. He is a three-time ...

. On May 8, 2021, ''

Chicago Med ''Chicago Med'' is an American medical drama television series created by Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead, and is the third installment of Wolf Entertainment's ''Chicago'' franchise. The series premiered on NBC on November 17, 2015. ''Chicago Me ...

'' star

Torrey DeVitto Torrey Joël DeVitto (born June 8, 1984) is an American actress and former fashion model. Her first starring role was as Karen Kerr on the ABC Family drama series '' Beautiful People'' (2005–2006). She followed this up with recurring roles as ...

announced via

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

that she and Ross were dating.

References

External links

* : {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, David 1977 births Living people American Christians Atlanta Braves players Auburn Tigers baseball players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Boston Red Sox players Brewster Whitecaps players Chattanooga Lookouts players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Florida Gators baseball players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Suns players Las Vegas 51s players Los Angeles Dodgers players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball catchers Participants in American reality television series Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Bainbridge, Georgia Pittsburgh Pirates players Portland Beavers players Portland Sea Dogs players Rome Braves players San Antonio Missions players San Bernardino Stampede players San Diego Padres players Sarasota Reds players Vero Beach Dodgers players Yakima Bears players