Why David Ross is the Cubs Manager, Regardless of His Inexperience
Hiring an inexperienced guy to lead the Chicago Cubs to their expected next title is a very daunting task. I mean, the Cubs HAD a very experienced and successful guy in the dugout and he couldn’t get them back over the hump. So why would anyone think that someone that has never done it before, could?
First, I feel that experience is a mostly made-up idea. I think guys are simply capable or not. All experience does is reveal that fact.
The Chicago Cubs interviewed Mark Loretta, Will Venable, Joe Girardi, Gabe Kapler, Joe Espada, and David Ross to become the next manager. They also had several calls into others, but there was no “formal” interview given.
Of the six candidates, only Girardi and Kapler had experience. Of the two, only one was semi-successful, Girardi. Even in that success, there were many questions if the New York Yankees could have been even better under a different voice than Girardi’s.
So of the experienced, they had a checkered history which just doesn’t lift them off the page as clear-cut favorites. Their experience just wasn’t enough.
Puppets
A trend in baseball has been to hire rather inexperienced managers, in particular, those who have worked in the front office and not in a coaching role. They will always have playing experience as well, but no real coaching experience to speak of. The appeal of these candidates is, they see the game from the executive’s eyes. They see the reasoning a player is added to a roster, and the value that a front office sees in that asset, and will incorporate them into their plan accordingly.
This isn’t typically how a manager with just playing/coaching experience sees the players on the roster. While both sides will always want all of their players to be put in the best position to succeed, a manager’s plan and the front office’s plan isn’t always on the same page. That can be ok, as long as they can communicate their ideas and plans and everyone gets on-board.
Someone hired from the front office of an organization will more than likely see things from the FO point of view and will be much more likely to accept suggestions from that FO.
A lot of fans see this as the new age manager being a puppet of the front office. Unable to make their own decisions and is a manager in title only while the general manager is the one really running the show. This is both right and wrong at the same time. And while there is a distinction, I’m not going to dive into this to convince anyone any different.
Past matters
The fact is, the past always matters. Whether your past shows an extremely long history of being a successful coach or manager, whether you showed an incredible amount of accountability, or showed that you can hold others accountable – the past always matters.
In Ross’ past, he showed both Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer that he will lead a dugout sometime in the future.
“The third-string catcher was not usually present, let alone vocal,” Epstein continued. “Except for David. He spoke up early and often, in a strong and authoritative voice, making insightful points about every opposing hitter. He wasn’t afraid to disagree, even with Varitek, and quickly won over the room. By the third or fourth hitter we discussed, others were deferring to Ross, the backup’s backup who up until the last six weeks had spent his entire career in the other league.”
2008, Ross was designated for assignment by the Cincinnati Reds. The Boston Red Sox, who already had two catchers on the roster, decided to take a flier on the veteran backstop.
“By the time the playoffs came around, he was respected enough that we invited him into our advance scouting meetings,” Epstein wrote in the foreword to “Teammate,” Ross’ New York Times bestselling memoir. “Again, I didn’t expect much from David. These are big, important meetings with the front office, manager Terry Francona and the whole coaching staff. Typically, advance scout Dana LeVangie and Varitek — both expert in this role — would take the lead breaking down opposing hitters, and pitching coach John Farrell, Tito, and a few of us in the front office would chime in.
This shows that he had a very strong sense of how to work with advanced information, how to calculate it into a game plan, and, even though he was the junior in the room – commanded it and eventually ran the meetings.
He was already interviewing for the Cubs manager role, way back in 2008, and he nor Theo had any idea of it.
Accoutability
A lot of fans don’t think that a friend could manage a friend. While this just isn’t true, the issue is still there. Sure there could be someone in the clubhouse that will question things, like, “this is my friend, I’m ok staying out late, he ‘gets it.'”
But if you’ve paid any attention to who David Ross is over the past 10 to 12 years, you will soon find out that he just won’t let that happen.
Here’s David’s own words:
“A lot has been made, and rightfully so, of my connection to the 2016 World Series team, and the notion that I’ll now be managing the players I once counted on as teammates,” he said in a statement. “Having those relationships going into this will be a bonus, no doubt about it. But those guys know I’ll be the first to hold them accountable, the first to demand their best daily effort and the first to let them know about it if they give anything but their best. I never had a problem dishing out a lot of tough love as their teammate, and that won’t change as their manager.“
Yes, he played with them. Yes, he bumped cups with a lot of those guys. Yes, they joked around and had a lot of fun. But he was ALWAYS the first person to tell anyone in that dugout that they weren’t pulling their weight, or that they weren’t giving their best.
Here is how the Cubs and some players feel about Ross holding them accountable.
Kris Bryant has thought of him as a manager, even when they were playing together. Makes you think that maybe the spark missing wasn’t Dexter Fowler at the top of the lineup, and maybe it was the old man in the dugout pushing the guys to be their best every day?
Jake Arrieta knew that Ross saw the game from a different lens than any of the other guys out there. He had to. He wasn’t as skilled as the Bryant’s, or Rizzo’s, or Baez’s, or Montero’s of the world. He needed an edge and that was holding himself and others accountable, and being able to understand the game at a different level than others out there.
The biggest advocate of Ross has always his battery mate (I know, strange saying that in reverse order, since you usually mention the pitcher first, then the battery mate, or catcher). Lester is a grizzly veteran that could have a hothead. His tough and rough around the edges, and he’s the type of guy that will sit across from you and tell you he knows more about baseball than you do, regardless of who you are and evidence you may have with you.
One more long quote on Ross, simply because I love Jon Lester:
— Gary Cohen (@GaryCohenCubs) October 24, 2019
"He knows how to push my buttons without crossing that line, and I think that’s a big thing in this game. As soon as you cross that line, you see a lot of guys shut down…
Lester con’t.
— Gary Cohen (@GaryCohenCubs) October 24, 2019
“…Regardless of who you are or how tough you think you are, you cross that line and you cross that line. It’s a matter of ‘OK, now me and you need to handle this, as opposed to me worrying about getting the hitter out.’"
Just how worried is Theo?
“We are thrilled to name David Ross as the 55th manager in franchise history,” said Epstein. “David is as gifted a leader as I’ve ever come across, and I expect him to become a great manager. He is a natural connector with a high baseball IQ and a passion for winning. David has always stood out for his ability to cultivate the ingredients of a winning culture — accountability, hard work, hustle, competitiveness, trust, togetherness, and team identity.
“David’s connection to the organization and his relationships with his former teammates could be assets initially, but they were not factors in our decision nor will they be critical to his long-term success in the role. He earned the job on the merits, and he will move the team forward in a new and different direction. We are excited to have David as our manager and look forward to working together to foster a winning culture and build the next Cubs championship team.”
His thoughts back in 2016?
This is a guy that has been gaining experience leading men since at least 2008. This is a guy that will have no issues holding a friend accountable. This is a guy that will demand the absolute best out of each and every player on the roster.
How do I know? Cause this is the one area that he is undeniably experienced in.
Oh, and the fun? It takes a backseat to winning and playing good hard fundamental baseball.
“We’ll have our fair share of fun along the way, but working hard as a team, playing fundamental team baseball and winning a lot of games will be our top priorities,” Ross added.
