By Tom Devine ‘20
Have you ever thought something was “meant to be?” This scenario is how most Chicagoans thought about David Ross recently in the news.
On Oct. 28, the Chicago Cubs front office announced that former player, David Ross, will be the new skipper for their ball club. During the opening news conference for Ross, Cubs President Theo Epstein explained how Ross was the “perfect” fit for the young team.
Baseball fanatics and classmates Dan Hackett and Mike Flynn had an opinion about hiring, and they had mixed thoughts.
Dan said, “I am looking forward to the foreseeable future in the Cubs franchise. I am expecting Rossy to make changes right away for the better.”
Mike thought of the situation completely different. He said, “David Ross is not the answer for the Cubs. They will need a lot more to win. It will be a rough upcoming season for them.”
A handful of critics are against the Cubs’ hiring. Most fans expected for the next manager to have a deep resume with a long coaching background, such as highly respected managers Joe Espada and Joe Girardi.
Ross understands that a lack of these traits raises many questions to be answered. Ross has been around numerous World Series and winning teams and assures he is ready for the job at hand. He also explained he has witnessed losing teams’ ways of playing and will not tolerate that when coaching.
Ross knows the Cubs team and front office like no other. The reason is that he played for the Cubs and retired from the team after winning the 2016 World Series. He expressed how he will keep the same “core values,” while understanding a new change needs to occur.
The Cubs hired Ross after agreeing to part ways with Joe Maddon, in faith that he could lead them back to the pennant.
Accountability. Most wonder if Ross will be willing to hold his old teammates accountable after Maddon failed to do so.
Current core players, such as Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant, think so. In fact, these guys even wanted Ross to be their coach because they understood how much of a role model he was to them.
If this all works out, it should be an exciting time as a Cubs fan for years to come.
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