David Ross (baseball)

David Ross
Cincinnati Reds – No. 26
Catcher
Bats: Right Throws: Right
debut
June 28, 2002, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Career statistics (through 2007)
Batting average	.222
Home runs	57
Runs batted in	141
Teams
Los Angeles Dodgers (2002-2004) Pittsburgh Pirates (2005) San Diego Padres (2005) Cincinnati Reds (2006-present)

David Wade Ross (born March 19, 1977 in Bainbridge, Georgia), is a catcher for Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds. The 6'-2" (1.89 m), 225 pound (102 kg) Ross bats and throws right-handed.

Ross' collegiate career began at Auburn University, but he transferred to the University of Florida after the 1997 season. Arguably, his finest collegiate moment came in the 1997 SEC semifinal round against Florida State, where he blasted a walkoff home run. He's one of a very few players to play in the College World Series with two different schools.

Although David Ross was originally drafted in the 19th round of the 1995 amateur draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers, he did not sign and instead attended college. In 1998, the Dodgers again selected Ross in the 7th round of the amateur draft. He signed and made his major league debut on June 28, 2002 and was with the team until 2004. He split time between the San Diego Padres and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2005; as a Pirate, he was traded to the Padres for infielder J. J. Furmaniak.

He was signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds during spring training for the 2006 season and became a fan favorite in Cincinnati for his tape measure home runs. 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 Pena, the consensus among Reds fans was that Ross had proven himself deserving of being the number one catcher due to his better offensive numbers and that one of the other Reds catchers, Jason LaRue or Javier Valentin, should have been dealt (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.

However, on November 20, 2006, LaRue was traded to the Kansas City Royals for a player to be named later. On January 15, 2006, David Ross signed a two-year, $4.54m deal with the Reds. Ostensibly, Ross is the number one catcher.

Arguably, one of David Ross' most memorable moments as a Cincinnati Red occurred on April 26, 2006 against the Washington Nationals at the Nationals' home field, the expansive, pitcher-friendly RFK Stadium. Facing right-hander (and former Red) Ramon Ortiz in the third inning, Ross blasted a pitch deep into the upper deck stands in right-center field. The home run traveled an estimated 475 feet (144.7 m).

Ross' 2007 season started with an abysmal 4 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 1st and 2nd, he grounded into rare 5-4-3 triple play against the Philadelphia Phillies. Ross finished the 2007 season with a .203 batting average and 17 home runs.

Career Stats

Yr   Ag Tm  Lg G   AB  R  H   2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB K    AVG  OBP  SLG TB  SH SF IBB HBP GIDP
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2002 25 LAD NL 8   10  2  2   1  0  1  2   0  0  2  4   .200 .385 .600 6   0  0   0   1   0
2003 26 LAD NL 40  124 19 32  7  0  10 18  0  0  13 42  .258 .336 .556 69  0  1   0   2   4
2004 27 LAD NL 70  165 13 28  3  1  5  15  0  0  15 62  .170 .253 .291 48  0  5   1   5   3
2005 28 PIT NL 40  108 9  24  8  0  3  15  0  0  6  24  .222 .380 .380 41  1  3   0   1   3
2005 28 SD  NL 11  17  2  6   0  1  0  0   0  0  0  4   .353 .389 .471 8   1  0   0   1   0
2006 29 CIN NL 52  138 22 41  9  1  13 33  0  0  18 36  .297 .371 .659 91  1  3   5   0   3
2007 30 CIN NL 100 200 77 92  7  3  77 28  0  0  13 99  .425 .211 .999 99  3  7   8   8   9
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS         221 562 67 133 28 3  32 83  0  0  54 172 .237 .309 .468 263 3  12  6   10  13
5 Seasons

Stats as of April 3, 2008

Trivia

• Ross hit his first career home run off of (at the time) Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Mark Grace. The Dodgers were blowing out the Diamondbacks and they put Grace into pitch for fun.

External links

• David Ross at Reds.com
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference