In Search of 100: A Look Back on David Ross' Career

In his last game, David Ross crushed a Francisco Lirano meatball for a three-run blast that was cause for much celebration, his 99th career homer. It marks his third home run of the season, and surprisingly only his fourth as a member of the Chicago Cubs. Throughout his career, David Ross has never shied away from confrontation or [calling bullshit] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC-amWf_L8E) when warranted. As shown in multiple separate occasions, the nickname "Grandpa Rossy" has been hard-earned. Though his tenure as a Cub has been relatively short, he has proven his worth time and again, all while adding yet another loveable character to young, dynamic team.

Grandpa Rossy's prolific power may be a thing of the past, but his quest to reach 100 has seen its share of bombs. His first home run as a major league came against an unlikely foe. In his eighth career at-bat, with the Dodgers up 18-0 against the Diamondbacks, Ross squared on Mark Grace slowball and dumped it over the left field fence to resounding boos from the Arizona crowd. This auspicious beginning became ironic during the 2015 Cubs campaign, as Ross himself pitched two shutout innings of work against the Brewers in May and the Phillies in July. The Phillies game was especially memorable due to Ross hitting his only long ball of the year while being the pitcher of record.

In his sophomore year as a Dodger, he hit 10 home runs in only 40 games played, establishing himself as a reliable backup catcher early in his career (and hilariously outplaying Todd Hundley in the process). 2004 was a different story, however, as Ross slashed a depressing .170/.253/.291 for the year in 70 games played.

2005 was a tumultuous year for Gramps, as he was sold outright to the Pirates. After only 40 games he was traded to the Padres for JJ Furmaniak (aka some scrub with zero career homers). San Diego was the only team for which Ross never homered, having played only 11 career games as a friar.

It was as a member of the Reds that David Ross had a reawakening, doing the majority of his damage by knocking 21 taters in 2006 and 17 in 2007. One of Ross' homers as a Red was a particularly large dong, a moonshot off Ramon Ortiz to the upper deck of left field. Total blast distance was measured at 474 feet, the longest measured homer of Ross' career.

After two and a half years with Cincinnati, Ross was released and signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox midway through 2008. Despite only accumulating nine at-bats that year for the Sox, he would return in grand fashion.

His longest tenure with one team came as an Atlanta Brave, from 2009 to 2013. Whether on the bench, at the dish or behind it, Ross proved his value to the Braves just as he has done for every team lucky enough to have had his services.

His biggest home run as a Brave came in the first-ever wild card game in 2012, in a losing effort against the St. Louis Cardinals. It was his first true taste of postseason glory, but it would not be his last.

In the offseason of 2013, David Ross signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox to be "more than a backup but not a starter".

In April, Ross hit two home runs against Erik Bedard of the Houston Astros to back Ryan Dempster's first win as a member of the Red Sox. Both round-trippers were simply annihilated, mirror-image shots over the Green Monster and into the parking lot behind Fenway Park. Though it was a formidable beginning to his second stint in Boston, two concussions sent him to the DL and to questioning his future. Remarkably he returned to join the Red Sox on their championship run, highlighted by a go-ahead RBI double in game 5 of the World Series. After the game Ross remained humble and said he was "more of a 'keep my head down and work hard kinda guy'".

In 2015, Ross followed his favorite battery-mate Jon Lester to the Chicago Cubs to team up once again, adding a hefty bat to a potent lineup at Wrigley Field. Most importantly, Grandpa Rossy has become a desperately needed Simon to offset Anthony Rizzo's avant garde bongo playing Garfunkel. In winter of 2016 Ross announced his next season would be his last. Since then, his teammates have been cheering for him to reach the 100 homer milestone, and with plenty of season left Grandpa Rossy seems to have a future date with destiny ahead of him.

Catchers David Ross Backed Up:

• 2002-04 Paul LoDuca
• 2005 Pirates had a catcher by committee (Humberto Cota, Ryan Doumit, Benito Santiago, Ronny Paulino), Padres were similar (Ramon Hernandez, Miguel Olivo, Miguel Ojeda)
• 2006-07 Nobody, bitch
• 2008 Jason Varitek
• 2009-2012 Brian McCann
• 2013 Jarrod Saltalamacchia
• 2014 AJ Pierzynski
• 2015-16 Miguel Montero

Career Home Runs by Team:

• Reds: 41
• Braves: 24
• Dodgers: 16
• Red Sox: 11
• Cubs: 4
• Pirates: 3
• Padres: 0

Edits for formatting.