David Ross took on so many jobs and projects in “retirement” that the Cubs didn’t really have a chance to get him as their new bench coach. Plus, Brandon Hyde has already done the job and is widely respected throughout the organization for his straight-shooting style.
That locked another piece of Joe Maddon’s staff into place for 2018, when Hyde will shift back into the dugout from the first base coach’s box and Ross will continue to be a special assistant in Theo Epstein’s baseball operations department.
“I think he’s going to get more involved in that role every year,” general manager Jed Hoyer said Thursday on NBC Sports Chicago’s Cubs Talk Podcast. “With David, he probably wanted a more relaxing first year away from baseball, and to get a chance to spend more time with his family. That just didn’t happen, because he became too popular.
“It’s his own fault, right? ‘Dancing with the Stars’ took a lot of his time – and TV stuff – so I think he’s still very much in that transition period.”
Hyde, a farm director during the early stages of the Wrigley Field rebuild, has been a bench coach for the Florida Marlins (2010-11) and during Rick Renteria’s one-and-done season (2014) before Maddon became a prized free agent.
“Grandpa Rossy” is only 40 and just a year removed from his farewell tour with the World Series champs, which made him an in-demand personality for ESPN and as the author of a memoir that’s in movie development.
As someone with 15 years of experience as a big-league player, the catching background that allowed him to see the game from many angles and a comfort level in front of the cameras and around reporters, Ross has many of the qualities the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers saw in World Series managers A.J. Hinch and Dave Roberts.
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Ross and Hoyer caught up during the World Series in Houston. While Ross worked the event as a broadcaster, Hoyer showed up to represent the organization as Anthony Rizzo received the Roberto Clemente Award.
“He’ll jump in with two feet here soon,” Hoyer said. “I saw him at the World Series, and that’s kind of how he described it. But I think right now – given his desire to spend time with his family and have a little bit of a break after playing – that’s kind of where he is mentally.
“I respect that. When you play that long and travel that much, at some point, you want to take a rest from that.”