Will Chicago Cubs Manager David Ross Get Contract Extension?

Will Chicago Cubs manager David Ross receive a contract extension as he approaches the final year of his contract?

Jack Vita | Sep 6, 2023

Will Chicago Cubs Manager David Ross Get Contract Extension? /

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Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs have taken the league by storm.

Coming into the season, few analysts and media members alike projected the Cubs to be more than a .500 team. The club's first 62 games did little to change the perception that this was a team in the early stages of a rebuild. Chicago entered June 9 with a 26-36 record and looked like a subpar team that would sell at the deadline.

In the three months since, the Cubs have been one of the best teams in baseball, with a 49-28 record. Entering Wednesday, they are three games up on the Cincinnati Reds for the second National League Wild Card and are just two-and-a-half games back of the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL Central lead. Needless to say, Chicago has greatly exceeded expectations.

The Cubs' stunning turnaround makes David Ross a prime candidate for NL Manager of the Year Award honors. Ross is in his fourth season as manager after he was hired in 2019 to replace Joe Maddon.

In early 2022, Ross received an extension through 2024, with a club option for 2025. As of now, only next season is guaranteed for the manager.

The 2011 film Moneyball highlighted the discomfort for managers running their teams on a one-year contract.

"A one-year contract means the same thing to a manager as it does to a player," the Art Howe character says to Billy Beane midway through the movie. "There's not a lot of faith there."

In most cases, if a front office intends to keep a manager, they will take care of the contract before the start of the year, assuring that they won't be managing to save their job during that season.

So has Ross done enough to earn an extension in the eyes of the Chicago's front office?

It would be difficult to argue otherwise, given the results he has put forth at the helm this season. Ross' team is overachieving, and the Cubs seem to have great cohesiveness and team chemistry, which is reflective of strong leadership. Ross is getting the very best out of his club and they are peaking at the right time. There are few teams that enter the final weeks of the regular season with more momentum than Chicago.

The Cubs are positioned well to make a postseason run and their manager could be in position for a handsome payday.

Check out the latest episode of the Jack Vita Show, where Orestes Destrade discusses the Cubs' incredible turnaround, and the latest baseball news!

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Published Sep 6, 2023

JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Cubs, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.