Ross Peter Gload (born April 5, 1976) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for six teams over ten seasons.

High school/college career

Gload grew up in the

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

community of Springs, New York, where he broke numerous high school and county home run records. After his record-breaking 1994 season for East Hampton High School, Gload was honored with the "Carl Yastrzemski Award," which is annually awarded to the most outstanding high school baseball player in Suffolk County by the Suffolk County Baseball Coaches Association. His 41 career home runs, and 20 in the 1994 season alone, are New York state high school records. Perhaps his most memorable high school moment was the Suffolk County Championship game, where he single-handedly propelled East Hampton to the Long Island Championship with a single and three moonshots off of Kings Park High School's left-handed starter Matthew Ligouri. Gload attended the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

, where he played under longtime Coach Eddie Cardieri. In 1995 and 1996, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Hyannis Mets The Hyannis Harbor Hawks, formerly the Hyannis Mets, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Harbor Hawks play ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

and was named a league all-star in 1996. He is a member of the USF Athletic Hall of Fame.

Major league career

Chicago Cubs

Gload was selected in the 13th round of the amateur draft by the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

. On July 31, 2000, at the trade deadline, he was dealt to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

along with minor leaguer Dave Noyce for Henry Rodriguez. Gload made his Major League debut August 31, with the Cubs. On September 12, 2001, he was claimed on waivers by the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

but did not play in any big league games that season.

New York Mets/Colorado Rockies

In January , Gload was involved in two deals with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

in a span of six days, first moving to the Mets in a three-team, 11-player trade, then having his contract purchased by Colorado from the Mets. Gload batted .258 with a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

and four RBIs in limited action with the Rockies.

Chicago White Sox

Just before the season, Gload moved on to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

organization, being acquired by Chicago for minor leaguer Wade Parrish. Gload did not appear in a Major League uniform in 2003, but in and again in , he saw significant duty with the White Sox. He batted .321 in 2004 with seven homers and 44 RBIs, finishing seventh in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

Rookie of the Year voting. In 2006, his numbers were .327 with three homers and 18 RBIs in fewer at-bats. He won his first World Series ring with the White Sox in 2005

Kansas City Royals

On December 16, 2006, Gload was traded to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

for

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

Andrew Sisco. In , with Kansas City, Gload logged career highs in at-bats and RBIs, being used as a starter more than in the past. He batted .288 with seven homers and 51 RBIs in 102 games. During the 2007–2008 offseason, Gload signed a two-year Major League contract with Kansas City.

Florida Marlins

On April 1, 2009, Gload was traded to the

for a player to be named later. On May 22, 2009 Gload made his pitching debut, pitching a scoreless ninth inning versus the Tampa Bay Rays. He and Wes Helms set an MLB record for most pinch-hits by a duo.

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 15, 2009, Gload signed a 2-year, $2.6 million contract with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. In 2012, Gload's contract with the Phillies expired, making him a free agent.http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/.../ross_gload...fit.../9280268

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gload, Ross Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Colorado Rockies players Kansas City Royals players Florida Marlins players Philadelphia Phillies players Major League Baseball first basemen Charlotte Knights players 1976 births Living people South Florida Bulls baseball players Baseball players from Brooklyn Baseball players from Suffolk County, New York Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Utica Blue Sox players Kane County Cougars players Brevard County Manatees players Portland Sea Dogs players Iowa Cubs players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Omaha Royals players Clearwater Threshers players People from Springs, New York Sportspeople from East Hampton (town), New York East Hampton High School alumni