David Ross (baseball)

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. In 1998, the Dodgers drafted Ross again, this time in the seventh round.[3]

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,[6] the Diamondbacks put first baseman Mark Grace in to pitch after he volunteered, to rest the bullpen. 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. Ross stayed with the team until 2004.[6]

The Dodgers sold Ross's contract to the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 30, 2005.[7] After 40 games with the Pirates, he was traded to the San Diego Padres on July 28, 2005, for infielder J. J. Furmaniak.[8] He played in 11 games with the Padres.[9]

Ross playing for the Cincinnati Reds in 2008

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.[9]

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.[9]

Ross signed a minor-league contract with the Boston Red Sox[10] on August 22, 2008. He came up to the MLB club on August 29 and became a free agent after the season.[11]

Ross with the Atlanta Braves in 2012

The Atlanta Braves signed Ross to a two-year, $3 million deal on December 5, 2008.[12]

In 2009, Ross hit .273 in 54 games. On July 27, 2010, he signed a two-year extension to stay with the Braves through 2012.[13] He managed to hit a career-high .289 for the Braves in 59 games in 2010.

Ross was the Atlanta Braves secondary catcher behind Brian McCann for his four seasons with the Braves. His hot start in the 2011 season (hitting .333 after starting seven games, with three home runs) highlighted his strengths, as Ross has always been known as a strong defensive catcher (in 2009, he committed one error in 52 games). Ross hit the first ever home run in the Wild Card Game when the new playoff format was introduced in 2012.[14]

Ross with the Red Sox in 2014

Ross signed a two-year, $6.2 million deal on November 10, 2012, to return to the Red Sox as "more than a backup but not a starter"[15] behind primary catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Ross suffered two concussions during the 2013 season and spent over two months on the disabled list; however, his health returned and he played a key role in Boston's run to the World Series championship over the St. Louis Cardinals that year, starting in four games during the series and driving in the game-winning run with an RBI double in Game 5. He was also behind the plate to catch the series-clinching out in Game 6 when Koji Uehara struck out Matt Carpenter.[16]

In 2014, Ross played as Jon Lester's personal catcher.[17]

The Chicago Cubs announced on December 23, 2014, that they had signed Ross to a two-year, $5 million contract.[18]

On May 9, 2015, in his first appearance as a pitcher in his professional baseball career, Ross recorded a perfect inning against the Milwaukee Brewers.[19] On July 26, he repeated the feat against the Philadelphia Phillies, then led off the next inning by hitting a home run off of Héctor Neris.[20]

On April 21, 2016, Ross caught his first no-hitter, against the Cincinnati Reds, his former team, with starting pitcher Jake Arrieta.[21] Ross hit his 100th career home run off of Adam Morgan of the Philadelphia Phillies on May 27, 2016.[22]

Ross announced his plans to retire following the 2016 season, after playing 15 seasons in the major leagues. During Game 7 of the 2016 MLB World Series against the Cleveland Indians, Ross hit a home run, making him the oldest player to do so in World Series history at 39 years old. The Cubs went on to win Game 7 8–7 in 10 innings, earning Ross his second World Series ring.[23] On January 14, 2017, the Cubs named Ross as a special assistant to baseball operations for the 2017 season.[24]

Following his retirement from MLB, Ross joined the Kansas Stars, an independent baseball team made of former MLB stars who play an abbreviated tournament lasting a few weeks out of the year.[25]

As of games played on October 1, 2023