David Ross

David Wade Ross (born March 19, 1977) is an American former professional baseball catcher and manager.

Ross was born in Bainbridge, Georgia, in 1977, but was raised in Tallahassee, Florida.

He was born into a family of athletes—his father, David Ross Sr., played in a men's softball league, and his mother, Jackie, played basketball.

Ross's uncles were both football players in college.

He attended Florida State University's laboratory school, Florida High School, in Tallahassee, Florida, where he played high school baseball for the Florida High School Demons.

Ross is one of five children; he has an older sister, Shannon, and a younger sister, Nikki.

Ross was drafted in the 19th round of the 1995 amateur draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but did not sign and accepted a scholarship to attend Auburn University instead.

Ross received an athletic scholarship to attend Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, where he played for the Auburn Tigers baseball team from 1996 to 1997.

In 1996, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

The defining moment of his college career came in the semifinal of the East Regional tournament during the 1997 College World Series when he hit a walk-off three-run home run against Florida State to advance to the regional final.

The Auburn Tigers would advance to the College World Series, getting knocked out in the 2nd round by Stanford.

He transferred to the University of Florida after the 1997 season, and played one additional season of college baseball for the Florida Gators baseball team in 1998.

Ross is one of the few players to have played in the College World Series with two different colleges, first with the Tigers in 1997, and then the Gators in 1998.

Ross decided to forgo his final season of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) eligibility after his junior season with the Gators, when he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 1998, the Dodgers drafted Ross again, this time in the seventh round.

He started his major league career playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2002 and also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago Cubs.

Ross made his MLB debut on June 29, 2002, striking out as a pinch hitter.

On September 2, 2002, with the Dodgers leading 18–0, the Diamondbacks put first baseman Mark Grace in to pitch after he volunteered, to rest the bullpen.

Ross stayed with the team until 2004.

The Dodgers sold Ross's contract to the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 30, 2005.

After 40 games with the Pirates, he was traded to the San Diego Padres on July 28, 2005, for infielder J. J. Furmaniak.

He played in 11 games with the Padres.

The Padres traded Ross to the Cincinnati Reds during spring training for the 2006 season.

On January 15, 2006, Ross signed a two-year, $4.54 million contract with the Reds.

While Ross was most often used as the "personal catcher" for right-hander Bronson Arroyo, whom the Reds received in a spring training trade with the Boston Red Sox for outfielder Wily Mo Peña, the consensus among Reds fans was that Ross had proven himself deserving of being the everyday catcher due to his better offensive numbers and that one of the other Reds catchers, Jason LaRue or Javier Valentín, should have been traded (possibly as part of a package deal) for a relief pitcher.

LaRue was the one most frequently cited, but no deal was made by the July 31 trade deadline.

On November 20, 2006, LaRue was traded to the Kansas City Royals for a player to be named later.

Ross's 2007 season started with four hits in 38 at-bats with no home runs and 17 strikeouts.

On April 21, 2007, his slump hit rock-bottom when with runners on first and second base, he grounded into a rare 5–4–3 triple play against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Ross finished the 2007 season with a .203 batting average and 17 home runs.

On August 10, 2008, Ross was designated for assignment and was released on August 18.

Ross signed a minor-league contract with the Boston Red Sox on August 22, 2008.

Ross had two World Series wins, one with the Boston Red Sox in 2013 and the Chicago Cubs in 2016.

Ross hit his first major league home run off Grace with two outs in the 9th inning, capping a 19–1 win.

Ross's Dodger career was stalled, however, by the large number of catchers in the Dodger system.

Paul Lo Duca was the starting catcher through most of Ross's time in Los Angeles, and teammates like Brent Mayne, Koyie Hill, and Todd Hundley competed with him for playing time.

He managed the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2020 to 2023.

He played in MLB for 15 seasons.

Ross played college baseball for Auburn University and the University of Florida and participated in two College World Series.

The Cubs named him their manager prior to the 2020 season.