Ross Gload

Ross Peter Gload

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.
• School University of South Florida
• High School East Hampton High School
• Debut August 31, 2000
• Final Game September 24, 2011
• Born April 5, 1976 in Brooklyn, NY USA

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Biographical Information

Ross Gload played ten seasons in the major leagues with a lifetime .281 batting average (it was .298 after the first five seasons). In both of the seasons with the Chicago White Sox where he got over 150 at-bats, 2004 and 2006, he hit over .320. He got his most playing time, however, in 2007 and 2008 with the Kansas City Royals, for whom he hit close to .280 each year.

He was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 13th round of the 1997 amateur draft. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs in 2000 along with pitcher David Noyce for Henry Rodriguez and made his big league debut later that year. He spent the entire 2001 season with the Iowa Cubs, where he led the Pacific Coast League with 10 triples. However, after the season, he was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Rockies. During that offseason, he was sent to the New York Mets as part of a three-team trade before being reacquired by the Rockies days later.

He appeared in 26 games with the Rockies in 2002 before being traded to the Chicago White Sox for Wade Parrish before the 2003 season. He spent that entire year with the Charlotte Knights of the International League, hitting .315, with 18 homers and 70 RBIs.

Ross made a big impression with the White Sox in 2004, hitting .321 in 234 at-bats. He got quite a bit of playing time due to injuries to Frank Thomas and Magglio Ordonez. It was harder for him to find a spot in 2005, and he also had some injury problems, so he spent most of the season in the minors, where he hit .364 with Charlotte. In 2006, he hit .327 in limited at-bats with the Sox.

In December 2006, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals, where he got more playing time in 2007. He had more than 300 at-bats for the first time that year and hit 288 with 7 homers and 51 RBIs. In 2008, he got the most playing time of his career, with 388 at-bats during which he hit .273, but with only 3 homers and 37 RBI. He was traded to the Florida Marlins just as the 2009 season was about to start. He played a career-high 125 games that year, but with only 230 at-bats. He set the Marlins' franchise record for pinch-hits with 21, which held until beaten by Ichiro Suzuki in 2017. He hit .261. He then signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies and spent the 2010 and 2011 seasons with them, being used mainly as a pinch-hitter: he played over 90 games both years, but with 128 and 113 at-bats. He became a free agent after that last season but did not find an interested team and retired.

Related Sites

• Ross Gload on mlb.com