CHICAGO — David Ross was back at Wrigley Field on Sunday in the ESPN broadcast booth, analyzing the Chicago Cubs team he once managed in their 11-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
It’s not a big deal to Ross, who mentioned it’s not his first time back at Wrigley. He was sitting in the bleachers just last month when Anthony Rizzo grabbed a home run ball hit near him and hoisted it in the air along with his son. Ross was also on the field that day for the tribute to the 2016 Cubs, and he’s been at Wrigley for a few concerts.
But there he was in the clubhouse chatting with his many former players, clubhouse men Danny Mueller and Tim Hellmann, and others. It almost seemed like old times again.
“I’ve already done a game for them,” Ross said. “It feels normal to me. Everything’s good.”
I told Ross the Cubs should’ve had him perform during the seventh-inning stretch, which would’ve brought the house down Sunday.
He disagreed with my idea, as he often did as Cubs manager.
“I’m here to work,” he said. “I can’t be doing the stretch.”
Why not?
“Because I’m working,” he said. “I’m on air.”
I told him many broadcasters have sung “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” from the TV and radio booths. Former Cardinals announcer Jack Buck famously did it in 2001, throwing the Cubs cap the PR people handed him into the crowd during his rendition, putting on a St. Louis cap and singing, “Root, root, root for the Cardinals.” The Cardinals still replay the video at Busch Stadium when the Cubs come to town.
Ross gave up.
“They didn’t ask me,” he said, laughing. “I’ll blame it on them.”
The Cubs dropped the ball on what could’ve been a special stretch moment. Perhaps they didn’t want to make things awkward three years after President Jed Hoyer fired Ross and replaced him with Craig Counsell. Who knows? Maybe next time.
Earlier this year, Ross told Rob Bradford’s “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast he was “embarrassed” and rooting against the Cubs in that first season after the firing in ’24.
“Oh, it’s the worst. You’re rooting for the players … but you hope they lose,” he said with a laugh. “I’m like — that’s a terrible way to feel. Because you love those guys. I’m texting (Ian) Happ and Nico (Hoerner) and Dansby (Swanson) when they go deep, shooting them a text, a boom emoji or something.
“But then you kind of hope — it’s just human nature. Every time I went back to play a team I used to be on, you want to beat the crap out of your old team. I’m over that now. I still follow the Cubs and root for them. Time heals.”
Time does indeed heal. Now Ross is enjoying the Cubs and hoping to work a playoff game at Wrigley this October.
“They’ve been good all year,” he said. “Obviously the injuries set them back early in the season. But with (Cade) Horton and (Justin Steele) out now and to be able to make the moves they made at the deadline, it’s a real good team. The offense is relentless. It feels like there are good at-bats up and down the lineup. They’ve got an MVP candidate (in Pete Crow-Armstrong) at the top, and Seiya (Suzuki) is having a great year.
“Just a fun year. I root for a lot of these guys because of managing some of them and knowing them really well. It’s fun to watch them have success. There’s no better place than Wrigley when it’s rocking, and when they’re in the hunt, it’s a great place to play.”
That’s the elephant in the dugout.
Was it bittersweet at all to return during this?
Ross said there was “no bitterness to it” at all.
To refresh, Ross’s 2023 Cubs were 10 games under .500 on June 8, then went 50-28 through Sept. 6, giving them a 92% chance of making the playoffs. But they faded down the stretch for various reasons, including bullpen injuries and an offensive slump. The Cubs were on the brink of elimination when I asked him if he took blame for the collapse.
“We’re in this together,” Ross said that day. “I wouldn’t separate myself from any player, front office, coach. If we don’t get to where we want to get to, I’m the manager of this team. The blame should come on me first.”
Hoyer apparently agreed. He defended Ross to the media, then shockingly fired him after the season to hire Counsell, a free-agent manager whose Brewers always overachieved.
The Cubs appear to be on their way to their second straight postseason appearance under Counsell, whose handling of the injury-plagued pitching staff has been widely praised.
Ross returned to the Cubs family at the Cubs Convention last January, putting the past behind him.
“For David to be able to handle everything he has is amazing, because he did get stabbed out of nowhere,” Rizzo said at the convention. “The decision was made and Counsell is amazing. The team is in a great spot. But that’s your friend. When something bad happens, something good is happening for someone else. For him to handle it the way he has has been amazing. That’s just who he is. He’s a great person and lights up every room he walks in.”
Rizzo and Ross later teamed up for “The Lovable Reunion” podcast, which featured interviews with former 2016 teammates, Chairman Tom Ricketts and former President Theo Epstein. They didn’t get around to Hoyer.
Now the two have pivoted and changed the name of their podcast to “Ross and Rizzo Unfiltered.”
“It’s the same umbrella,” Ross said. “But we changed the name because we’re not just talking about (the 2016 season) but big-picture baseball stuff. That’s the premise, whether it’s Cubs-related, Yankees, Seattle, or whatever is going on in the league.”
Ross seemed happy and relaxed in his media role, even as he continues to tell the Chicago media he doesn’t like us.
“I love giving you guys a hard time,” he said. “Actually, it’s my favorite thing to do. I’ve dealt with you guys so much, it’s fun to poke fun at you. That feels like a different chapter. I’ve got so much going on with my kids. School is going back in a couple weeks, I’ve got to do more grocery shopping, keep the lunches packed. Just be a dad and then get on the road talking baseball with Rizz, and being a part of ESPN is amazing.”
Life goes on, and you never know where the road will take you.
Sometimes it leads right back to Wrigley Field.
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