Chicago Cubs manager David Ross believes experienced leaders are valuable even in today's MLB: "They know how to ride the wave and stay consistent" 

David Ross is not considered an old or experienced MLB manager. He's just 45 years old and he's been managing for just three seasons. There was a trend of hiring managers like Ross who are younger and more personable.

Slowly, the older breed of managers were being removed from baseball. But that pendulum seems to be swinging back at least a little bit. Ross believes that's a good thing.

Ross said via USA Today:

"Think of what they’ve seen, the situations they’ve seen. They’ve seen so much more than I’ve seen, being in the bigger moments, being on that stage. I can’t imagine their heart rate gets too high. I base a lot of the things I do from managers I had."

He also said that they're uniquely suited to stay calm despite everything:

"Looking back, good leadership puts those guys in position to succeed. They make sure they’re enjoying each other. When adversity hits, or good things hit, they know how to address the team, ride the wave, and stay consistent. All of the good managers I’ve had are pretty consistent on a daily basis."

Younger managers were all the rage, but older managers have made a comeback and they're leading some good teams:

• Dusty Baker, Houston Astros, 73
• Brian Snitker, Atlanta, 67
• Buck Showalter, New York Mets, 66
• Bud Black, Colorado Rockies, 65
• Terry Francona, Cleveland Guardians, 63
• Bob Melvin, San Diego Padres, 61

Dusty Baker just won the World Series. Terry Francona, Brian Snitker, Buck Showalter and Bob Melvin all led playoff teams last year and have World Series contenders this year.

---

David Ross credits his older managers

David Ross does not fit the mold of being one of these older managers, but he does believe the way they do things is how it works in baseball.

David Ross manages the Chicago Cubs

He strives to make the Cubs operate like one of his managers would have:

"The stuff I base my decisions on is the stuff I base my clubhouse culture on. I was in Bochy’s locker room. I was in Bobby Cox’s locker room. I’m a product of their example."

Perhaps the rush to get younger in the manager position was ill-advised.