We're finishing off this miniseries of posts with retired MLB catcher David Ross!
David was born in Georgia circa 1977 and spent his youth in Florida, where he played baseball for his school's team. He later went to college in Alabama and played for the Auburn Tigers while there in 1996 and 1997. After this, he transferred to the University of Florida where he continued to play, now for the Florida Gators. He was soon drafted into MLB team Los Angeles Dodgers.
In 2005, David's contract was bought by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and from there he was soon traded to the San Diego Padres. Since then he has played for the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves.
In 2014, David joined the Chicago Cubs, and later announced that the 2016 season would be his last as a professional baseball player. He ended up becoming the oldest player to score a home run in MLB history during the last game of his career, which also happened to be the last game of that season's World Series, in which the Cubs finished the nail-biting game with their first World Series title in over a century.
David's Dancing With the Stars partner is Lindsay Arnold, who has been a pro on the show for eight seasons; four in the troupe, and four as a pro. Before DWTS, Lindsay competed on Season 9 of So You Think You Can Dance, finishing in the Top 8. In 2016, Lindsay and fellow SYTYCD alum and DWTS pro Witney Carson put on a one-night-only showcase called Born and Raised in Utah.
Some highlights of Lindsay's DWTS career thus far include:
@TheBentleyNinja: Being on the Chicago Cubs made for the perfect underdog story for David, and Dancing With the Stars might just be another part to his World Series. David really isn’t talked about as much as some of the other contestants, and maybe that’s because some people are doubting him, but as we all learned in 2016, doubts are not always correct. If the Cubs could win a World Series with everyone thinking otherwise, then David could make it to the DWTS Finals with a silent majority vote.
Being that David is the first ever professional baseball player on the show, I have no clue what his fan base will be like whatsoever. If it’s anything like the football players, then David is going to have a lot of support for him. He seems like a pretty nice person, too, which can go a really long way.
I am curious to see how the dynamic between David and Lindsay will work, especially because I wonder if baseball experience would have any advantages when translated onto the ballroom floor. There is no doubt in my mind that Lindsay will do her very best to bring out all that she can in David, and I have a feeling that David will do the same for her. My instincts are telling me that this is going to be a well-balanced couple, where everything will hopefully just fall into place and work. But, even if that is the case, a lot of hard work is required to sustain that, but I don’t have any worries about this couple pushing themselves to the best that they can be.
@juliadelbel: I think it's great that we finally have our first baseball player on Dancing With the Stars, even if it took almost 12 years for it to happen! I think David is a fantastic choice and he and Lindsay seem to be a very well-matched team so far. I'm seeing a lot of people putting David in the camp of "older" contestants, but even though his nickname is "Grampa Ross", he's definitely not a member of that crowd! (He's turning 40 this Sunday, which means he's not even Lindsay's oldest partner on the show.)
I think David may struggle a bit with the dancing, but I think his attitude and partnership with Lindsay could potentially take him a long way. The Cubs are one of the most popular teams in the league, and I'm sure their fans will be ready to vote their fingers off for David! I also think he could be the type to get a lot of people who didn't know who he was before the show supporting him. So yeah, I see this team sticking around for awhile, so hopefully they'll bring some joy and fun to the dance floor!
COMING SOON: Our Pre-Season Spitlights may be done, but there is more to analyse before Monday's premiere! So look out for some more posts this weekend. ;)
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