Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Ross getting his chance in a Dodgers uniform

LOS ANGELES -- When David Ross hit his first major-league home run off Arizona "reliever" Mark Grace last year, he joked that at least he'd be able to tell his grandkids he hit his first homer off a Hall of Famer.

But despite Sunday's 0-for-4 performance at Dodger Stadium, it has looked recently as if Ross will be remembered for much more than hitting a homer off a first baseman.

"I hope I will," said Ross, who added that he still thinks it's not a bad thing to be remembered for the big hit in last year's 19-1 rout of Arizona. "I'm happy to be up here, I hope one day maybe they'll just say 'That guy hits off more than just first basemen.' "

Ross is 9-for-31 with three home runs, playing backup to regular Dodgers catcher Paul Lo Duca. In his three starts before Sunday, he was 6-for-11.

It certainly didn't appear Ross would be performing at that level when he was called up to the Dodgers May 3 -- he had been hitting a paltry .175 to start the season. But in a five-game stretch, he improved his average to .230, and with an injury to Dodgers backup catcher Todd Hundley, there was a need for Ross in Los Angeles.

"I was starting to swing the bat a little better. I was doing real well, and getting back in the rhythm of playing," Ross said. "When you're up at the big-league camp, and you're the backup, or third-string guy, you really don't get as many as at-bats as you normally do."

The 51s were on a road trip to Nashville when Ross and first-baseman Larry Barnes got the call. They joined the Dodgers the next day, but Barnes was sent back to Las Vegas shortly thereafter. Hot-hitting Bubba Crosby had a short, unsuccessful stint with Los Angeles. He was sent back to the 51s last week.

Ross says he has been fortunate to get an opportunity with the parent club.

"Those guys had more pinch-hit roles. I have a chance to start when I get in there, and the main reason I've stayed up is because Todd Hundley had back surgery. If that hadn't happened, I would have come back down and he would have come back healthy," Ross said.

"Who knows, if Daryle Ward had been down for the season, Bubba Crosby might have been up the whole time. Or, if something had happened to Fred McGriff, Larry Barnes might have stayed up the whole time. It's just a situation where the second string went down, so it's my chance to stay up here."

He said he feels more comfortable in the clubhouse this year than he did last season in his first stint in the majors. Ross credits that to last year's Las Vegas squad.

"Last year, we had a good mix of young guys and older guys, and the older guys taught us how to be professionals, how to go about your business every day, especially when you're not playing." Ross said. "Up here, if you're not a stable guy who starts every day, your game is before the game even starts -- your batting practice, you have to take that stuff seriously."

In Los Angeles, Ross, 26, has worked hard at improving and learning from Lo Duca.

"I have the utmost respect for him. If I have questions, I go to him. I can't say enough about the guy," Ross said. "He treats me well, if I ever need anything, the first person I go to is him. He's my mentor. That's the guy I look up to, and try to pattern my game after him."

LoDuca said he is happy Ross feels that way.

"David and I get along really well," said Lo Duca, who also had a stint in the minor leagues before his breakout season in 2001. "He's got the kind of skills that he's going to get a chance to play every day. He's still young and he's not a guy who's going to be a backup catcher in the future."

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