After Ian Happ’s ejection, David Ross had to ditch the headset and defend his player mid-interview
“Fridays with Rossy” has become a staple of Cubs broadcasts this season where Jon “Boog” Sciambi and Jim Deshaies catch up with Cubs manager David Ross during an inning.
Ross wears a headset in the dugout and chats as the game is unfolding in front of him.
With Friday’s rainout, the interview was moved to Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader. And with it came some must-see TV.
Ross’ 3rd-inning interview began with Ian Happ’s at-bat against Max Scherzer. The Cubs’ All-Star outfielder battled against the 3-time All-Star but ultimately struck out on the 9th pitch of the at-bat — a pitch Happ thought was out of the strike zone and Ball 3.
Happ shared his frustrations with home plate umpire John Tumpane and after a bit, he started walking back to the dugout. With his back turned, Tumpane ejected Happ from the game, prompting Ross to run onto the field to defend his player.
"Ian Happ has been ejected and David Ross has ejected the headset."
— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) July 17, 2022
Happ was thrown out while Ross was mid-interview with @BoogSciambi + @JimDeshaies on @WatchMarquee: pic.twitter.com/USPIwYD6kO
Sciambi perfectly captured the situation: “Ian Happ has been ejected and David Ross has ejected the headset.”
Amazingly, the interview actually began with Sciambi and Ross joking around about how the Cubs skipper was thrown out early in the first game of the day. (Ross was also ejected in the series opener Thursday evening.)
As the at-bat progressed over the next 3 minutes, Ross talked about Drew Smyly’s outing, Yan Gomes’ RBI double the previous inning and Happ’s season before Tumpane’s call led to an amazing moment.
Check out the full interview and sequence of events in the video above.