David Ross Is Going To Be On Dancing With The Stars
What a fuckin’ life Grandpa Rossy has, huh? Name one backup catcher in the history of baseball who’s more beloved by the United States of America than David Ross. You can’t. And he deserves all of it, too. Barstool’s mantra before Club Dave was “By the common man, For the common man”, and nobody in baseball represented the common man more than Ross. There was no better documented example of that than in the 2013 World Series film, which followed Ross around prior to, during, and after the 2013 World Series. Guy was just STOKED to be there, and shared the same passion and childlike excitement as the fans in Boston.
He was a fan favorite in every city he played in, but he didn’t reach that folk hero status until he got to Chicago in 2015. Once he signed with the Cubs, he became one of the most popular and embraced players on the entire roster, which featured seven All Stars last year, five of which were starters. Regardless of the fact that he was a 39-year-old backup catcher in his final season, which was only his second season with the Cubs, the players treated him like he was a lifelong Cub who was bowing out after a Hall of Fame career. And I don’t even think it was over the top, either. I think that just speaks to his character, knowing how appreciated he was by his teammates.
But after homering in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, a World Series in which we saw the Cubs win their first title since 1908, Rossy called it a career. But a guy with that much charisma can’t just ride off into the sunset, never to be seen or heard from again, no. His first move after retirement? Dancing With The Stars. Only in America can you go from being a backup catcher for the 90-loss, fifth place Reds in 2007, to a decade later being a World Series champion with the Chicago Cubs, carrying enough celebrity status to be on Dancing With The Stars. Amazing. I just hope his legs hold up.