David Ross

David Ross built an impressive winning pedigree built as a player. Prior to beginning his 15-year major league career, David Ross made two appearances in the College World Series with Auburn University and the University of Florida. To date he is one of very few players to accomplish this feat. Ross was then selected in the 7th round of the 1998 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. After seven years in the minors, he made his debut with the Dodgers in 2002 and became a solid catcher at the big league level. After two years with the Dodgers he played with the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox from 2004 to 2008 before landing with the Atlanta Braves in 2009. During his three years in Atlanta, he was a solid back up catcher and also started several games while establishing himself as a reliable power hitter off the bench. In 2013 he signed a two-year, $6.2 million contract with the Red Sox and helped his former team to a World Series title in his first year. He went on to help the Chicago Cubs win a World Series in the final year of his career. His Game 7 home run in the 2016 World Series made him the oldest player to ever homer in the Fall Classic. Ross became a popular media personality in retirement, finishing runner-up on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars and serving as a baseball analyst for ESPN. He also remained associated with the Cubs as a special advisor and was hired as manager prior to the 2020 season.