David Ross downfall as Cubs manager? He isnt Craig Counsell -

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Fair has nothing to do with it. David Ross didn’t have any formal experience in coaching or management when the Chicago Cubs hired him to be the 55th manager in franchise history. He didn’t have to leave his comfort zone as an ESPN broadcaster, a special assistant in baseball operations and a Cubs legend waving to the crowd from a Wrigley Field suite. His tenure still ended with a stunning, cold-blooded move.

Ross understood the risks in working with a front office that quickly soured on Joe Maddon, the only Cubs manager to win the World Series since 1908. Ross recognized that his contributions to that championship team would only take him so far. Ross leaned into his strengths as a leader, acknowledged the areas where he needed to catch up and started learning on the job.

On Oct. 24, 2019, the Cubs elevated Ross, hoping he would become their version of Craig Counsell, the Milwaukee Brewers manager who always seemed to do more with less, squeezing extra wins out of that small-market team at a time when it was becoming clear that there would be no dynasty in Wrigleyville.

Those parallels between Ross and Counsell would eventually converge and suddenly crash into each other, leaving Ross out of a dream job and making Counsell $40 million richer. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer fired Ross during a Monday meeting in Florida, clearing the way for the team to send out a Counsell press release and a “Thank you, Rossy” social media graphic by the afternoon.

If this story sounds familiar, that’s because it’s an ingrained part of “The Cubs Way.”

Teammate. Leader. Manager. Legend.

We are deeply grateful for David’s contributions as a player and skipper.

Thank you, Rossy. pic.twitter.com/qc3D1AduWA

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) November 6, 2023

Back on Halloween 2014, the team issued a press release with a refreshingly blunt headline — “Cubs Fire Manager Rick Renteria” — and a long statement from Theo Epstein, the president of baseball operations at that time. The Tampa Bay Rays had allowed a star manager to use the opt-out clause in his contract. As Epstein’s general manager, Hoyer had a closer relationship with Renteria, meaning he had to deliver the bad news.

“Last Thursday, we learned that Joe Maddon — who may be as well suited as anyone in the industry to manage the challenges that lie ahead of us — had become a free agent,” Epstein said then. “We confirmed the news with Major League Baseball, and it became public knowledge the next day. We saw it as a unique opportunity and faced a clear dilemma: be loyal to Rick or be loyal to the organization. In this business of trying to win a world championship for the first time in 107 years, the organization has priority over any one individual. We decided to pursue Joe.

“While there was no clear playbook for how to handle this type of situation, we knew we had to be transparent with Rick before engaging with Joe. Jed flew to San Diego last Friday and told Rick in person of our intention to talk to Joe about the managerial job. Subsequently, Jed and I provided updates to Rick via telephone and today informed him that we will indeed make a change.”

It will be impossible to airbrush Ross out of franchise history, considering he was so popular that teammates carried him off the field on their shoulders after Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. Winning another championship is the only way the Counsell hire will be judged as a total success.

For all of his accomplishments during the regular season, Counsell won only one playoff round during his nine years as Milwaukee’s manager. His takeover during the early part of the 2015 season, transitioning from the front office to the dugout, helped ex-players like Ross skip steps to become major-league managers.

Like Counsell, Ross was a valuable role player on World Series-winning teams who understood clubhouse dynamics and learned more about the business from a leadership role within the MLB Players Association. The COVID-19 pandemic never came up during Ross’ interview process, but he handled that unimaginable 60-game season with dignity and empathy, helping guide the Cubs to a 2020 division title.

As the Cubs slashed the budget for baseball operations and traded away some of the most popular players in franchise history, Ross became the daily spokesman for the rebuild. It’s a credit to Ross that the Cubs kept playing hard once the front office sold at the 2022 trade deadline, posting a 39-31 record after the All-Star break. It’s also a tribute to Ross that the Cubs didn’t cave when they were 10 games under .500 this past June, mounting a second-half comeback that kept them in the playoff hunt until the final weekend of the season.

In singling out Ross after a September collapse — and potentially disrupting a coaching staff that he repeatedly praised — Hoyer will absorb even more pressure. No one will want to hear about how “we’re a family” in the clubhouse, an idea that Ross and several veteran players promoted as an important part of establishing a winning culture. No one should believe it if Counsell starts romanticizing Wrigley Field during his introductory press conference because he grew up the son of a Brewers employee in Wisconsin and wanted to shatter the pay scale for major-league managers.

This much remains true at the start of MLB’s general manager meetings in Arizona: The Cubs have to get their manager some better players.

(Top photo: Scott W. Grau / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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