Chicago Cubs: Retired David Ross to join Cubs as special assistant

It didn’t take long for former World Series champion and Chicago Cubs catcher David Ross to find a job post-retirement.

News broke Friday from a press release from the Chicago Cubs that David Ross will indeed be joining the Cubs as special assistant to baseball operations. This move should not come as a surprise to anyone.

It was widely speculated that he would stay with the organization in some capacity after announcing 2016 as his final season.

Ross will help evaluate amateur talent, assist with player development, do pro scouting and even do some front office work for the club. This means he could do anything from helping out at practices to giving the rest of the front office his opinions on potential draft picks.

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Known as “Grandpa Rossy” to his teammates, Ross will remain part of the team just as fans had hoped. It’s not often you see a team and its fans embrace someone the way the Chicago did with Ross.

After all, he spent two of his fifteen major league years with the club. But Ross was a different kind of teammate.

Legacy of Ross continued

From his relationship with Anthony Rizzo, we could see Ross’s goofy side that made him so likable with teammates and fans alike. Aside from his fun-loving nature, Ross was also one of the team’s undisputed leaders, both on the field and in the clubhouse.

There’s a time for fun, and there’s a time to get serious, and David Ross understood how to do both. The former major league catcher ended his career as a World Series champion. Not many players of Ross’s caliber get carried off the field, but he also has that distinction.

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Add to the list the fact that he became the oldest player to ever hit a homer in Game 7 of the World Series. That’s quite the ending to a career.

Now he’ll have a chance to help the team in a different way. Surely, this will give Ross the opportunity to stay involved with baseball while also spending more time with his family. It will be interesting to see how Ross does in his new role with the team.