David Ross retired while on top, literally carried off the field as a World Series champion in 2016, with the Chicago Cubs and it looks like he can easily have a future in baseball in some capacity if he wants it.
Ross was briefly mentioned in rumors as a possible candidate to be the Cubs' bench coach in 2018, but he said he wasn't ready to jump all the way back in to baseball. He's still an analyst on ESPN and does some work for the Cubs' front office. Ross is also showing he has a good eye for talent.
One of the biggest surprises of the 2018 season for the Cubs has been the emergence of rookie David Bote. He's been flying under the radar down in the minors, drafted in the 18th round back in 2012.
Bote may have been on some people's radar, but coming into 2018, he certainly wasn't as well known as he's become, doing an admirable job filling in for Kris Bryant.
It turns out that Ross was at least one Cubs' official who saw something special coming for Bote. During the weekend manager Joe Maddon shared this little nugget, saying it was Ross who came up to him during spring training and said David Bote was ready for The Show.
Bote only has 61 at-bats with the Cubs, but his value has been visible since day one. He'll either make a great play on defense, or come up with a solid plate appearance and has the potential to hammer the ball hard, posting a .927 OPS in 28 games. I've compared Bote to Ben Zobrist before, but even the 37-year-old veteran believes the rookie is a better player than he was at age 25. Not so bad for Bote and for Ross, who is looking good right now with his recommendation of the new super utility player for the Cubs.
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