It Might Surprise You Who The Most Important Cub Is
The Chicago Cubs have a ton of players that could be considered the most important or most valuable to the team in 2015. There is Anthony Rizzo and his great leadership and overall great play. There is also Jake Arrieta, who in any other season would be the hands down CY Young favorite. Or perhaps you look to the manager and Joe Maddon’s impact on this young team is what has been most valuable to the team.
All of those options and you want to know who is the unanimous players choice for the most valuable Cub? David Ross.
Yes, that same David Ross that is hitting a buck 93. The same Ross that has driven in a total of nine runs this season. That same David Ross that has a 0.2 WAR, and that David Ross that only plays every fifth day as the personal catcher for Jon Lester.
Kris Bryant and Rizzo were recently interviewed by ESPN’s Pedro Gomez where they echoed this sentiment.
Both Rizzo and Bryant had very high praises for Ross’ impact in the clubhouse.
“The biggest factor for our clubhouse is David Ross, no doubt,” Anthony Rizzo said. “He brings it everyday, he’s really taught us players how to win everyday.”
“(Laughing) He’s just a goofball man,” Kris Bryant added when asked what Ross does for the team. “He’s 38 and we’re talking the other day how the young guys are like one of those LED lights. You just turn them on and it’s ready to go. He’s like one of those lights where, like a dimmer, you kind of have to slowly turn him up a little bit.”
It is Ross showing these young kids that it is ok to relax, it is ok to laugh even after you lose a bad game, especially since the baseball season is so long. He might not fill up a stat sheet day in-day out, but he is the guy that teaches in the clubhouse how to make it as a professional which is sometimes even more important for extremely young talented kids.
He also means a lot to those players that have been around for a while, and have almost accepted a culture of losing. He is a guy that will teach you that while it is ok to move on form a loss, it isn’t ok to accept a loss.
Many Cubs fans are disappointed when they see Ross’ name in the lineup, but a lot of those fans don’t understand just how important the right personality can be in a clubhouse. While many thought when the Cubs signed Ross it was only to be a personal catcher for Lester, what they didn’t expect was a player that is able to help mold the young roster into formidable professional players that should win in Chicago for a very long time.
I am never disappointed when Ross plays. It is obvious to anyone watching the 2015 Cubs all year that he is one of if not the team leader. Last night late at Pittsburgh, how he called the infield in to the mound and gave orders, as Len said, that was a future manager right there.