Likelihood of David Ross Becoming Cubs Bench Coach
David Ross
We wrote the other day on how the Dave Martinez hiring in Washington opens the door for David Ross. If you haven’t read it, please do here (or that last link). Since that time there has been a lot of people mentioning that he won’t get the job for a couple reasons. The first, because he retired to spend time with his family. The second, he needs more experience.
Both are somewhat valid reasons.
He walked away from the game having one of his best seasons and winning a championship but did so to spend time with his young family. He is fairly lucky, being a relatively young man (40) with young children. His playing career and post-career activities have set him up to be able to live comfortably for a while without the need for income. So coaching isn’t exactly a necessity for a retired Ross.
Ross also had a very busy year, which he was supposed to be at home with his family. He attended the Cubs Convention in January, was announced to be a special assistant to the Cubs, did that whole dancing thing, and took on a job as a baseball TV analyst on ESPN.
So… he didn’t really get all that family time he was looking for. But… I have heard the family time reasoning in just about every retirement in sports. So while I certainly believe David when he said the family is the reason he retired, the possibility of a job offer hasn’t kept him home yet.
The other case has been his coaching experience… which is none.
I think this is where a lot of fresh Cubs fans look back at Ryne Sandberg and how he had to prove himself before he got an opportunity to coach at the big league level. While I agreed, Ryno needed to be tested in the minors, David doesn’t need that path.
He has been a coach on the field since he left Cincinnati. The veteran catcher that became a student of the game, a guy that took youngsters under his wing, the guy that put the big name pitcher in his place. Ross has sat next to the likes of Joe Maddon, John Farrell, Terry Francona, Bobby Cox, Bruce Bochy, and Jim Tracy. Guys with 8,355 collective wins and 15,830 career games as managers.
If each and every single one of those guys has said (and they have) that Ross would make a great manager, I tend to side with them.
But that isn’t all. Just because someone doesn’t have the actual game experience managing a baseball game, doesn’t mean they can’t be great at it. Alex Cora is the Red Sox new manager, and he spent a single season as a bench coach in Houston with no other coaching experience. Robin Ventura was virtually out of the game when the Chicago White Sox tapped his shoulder to manage their team without ever coaching at any level. A.J. Hinch was chosen to be the Arizona Diamondbacks manager without any experience, and now he is a game away from winning the World Series. Joe Girardi was named the Florida Marlins bench coach without ever coaching at any level.
Experience has never been a pathway to being a successful coach or manager in baseball, it has always been the right type of guy.
Backup catchers have always had their foot in the door when it comes to coaching or even managing. Catchers are (usually) the smartest players on the field, always knowing what is happening, how plays develop, what should happen and when. They are the ones standing up before a pitch to direct the defense. They are in constant communication with the manager, bench coach, pitching coach, and pitchers explaining the gameplans. The backup is all of that, except they are often sitting right next to the bench coach and manager. These guys are more times than not, the smartest baseball minds on the field at any given moment.
If Ross is offered the job (it sounds like there has been at least a conversation) it would be a difficult position to reject. Ross is close with these guys, and why wouldn’t he be, they won a World Series in what was his dream retirement season. But it will likely be the fact that he just hasn’t had the time away from the game or away from a busy lifestyle which causes him to say no. In a text to the Chicago Tribune’s Mark Gonzalez, he seemed to say as much.
“Hard to see me jumping back in,” Ross wrote in a text message. “Was a little busy this year and never got real time off.”
I believe this is a lot for someone a year removed from a championship season, who didn’t get that year away to shake the cobwebs of the grind away. If anything causes Ross to turn down the job (assuming it is offered) it will be that. Whatever the case, David has been clear, any full-time job he contemplates will be a full family decision.
If the Cubs decide to turn elsewhere, there are a lot of interesting names out there. The New York Yankees manager, and former Cub, Joe Girardi is without a job. John Farrell is on the market and has three family members working for the Cubs in different capacities. I wouldn’t see Maddon making either of these hires since it would almost like he is hiring a potential replacement. If Theo Epstein were to overstep and make a move to hire Girardi or Farrell, that would certainly signal Maddon is on the hot seat, and I couldn’t imagine this organization doing that to this skipper.
The real money is on Brandon Hyde, the current Cubs first base coach, and former Cubs bench coach when Rick Renteria managed the team. Hyde was suspected to get the Marlins manager’s job when Jack McKeon retired. Instead, they brought in Ozzie Guillen and Hyde jumped ship to Chicago.
If I were a betting man, I would guess the job is between Ross and Hyde, and will likely go to Hyde.
