As of Wednesday morning, a new face of Chicago Cubs baseball exists. Indeed, we have entered the David Ross era. Per Jon Heyman on twitter, Ross has been named the next manager of the Cubs who were in the process of replacing Joe Maddon.
Furthermore, Ross has spent the last few seasons as an analyst for ESPN’s back-up baseball crew. Prior to that, he was part of a Cubs team that won the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians. Equally important, he served as the stoic leader of that Cubs team that lifted the often mentioned curse.
Cubs are hiring David Ross for manager
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 23, 2019
It seems like Cubs’ star third baseman Kris Bryant is alright with the hire, based on comments he made towards the end of the season. What’s more, Bryan says that the former catcher has the coaching trait within him.
“I’ve always looked at Rossy as a coach when he played here,” Bryant said in late September. “Yeah, it was goofy, it was fun, it was energetic, but when he needed to tell you something, he let you hear it. From the very get-go, I felt like this guy will be a manager someday.”
While beating out five other candidates to manage Chicago – which included Joe Girardi – Ross seems to have landed his dream job.
“I think it’s one of the best jobs in baseball,” Ross said recently. “I’ve got a lot of close ties with those guys. … I think my heart is drawn to that dugout a little bit.”
Certainly it’s an unconventional hire, but it’s very similar to what the New York Yankees did in taking Aaron Boone straight from the ESPN booth to their dugout several seasons ago. Currently, the Yankees remain a top club in the sport. This may have made Chicago even more comfortable with hiring a younger manager with little experience.
Still, I wonder how Ross will translate as a manager. Chicago has a veteran roster of which he knows many of the players. However, it will be interesting to see if Chicago makes it back to a big spot; can Ross out-manage experienced counterparts who are masters of in-game management?
Time will tell, but this hire gets people talking; and fans will be excited about it at Wrigley Field in 2020.
