ESPN Broadcasters David Ross, Jessica Mendoza Barred from Dodgers Clubhouse Due to Front Office Ties

In a New York Post story about how ESPN is considering “blowing up” the Sunday Night Baseball booth and retaining only Alex Rodriquez for next season, Andrew Marchand dropped an interesting nugget about David Ross. Well, it was primarily about Jessica Mendoza, whose moonlighting gig as a special advisor to Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen raised an eyebrow or three in the baseball world.

Analysts are typically given access to the inner sanctums of the teams they’re covering, including player and staff interviews, so it figured that some organizations would be more guarded with perceived employees of rival organizations. That includes Ross, who has remained in the employ of the Cubs over the last few seasons as an advisor.

The Dodgers in particular refused both Mendoza and Ross access to their clubhouse during media availability, as a team spokesperson confirmed, requiring that they schedule any player interviews ahead of time. No other clubs were named specifically by Marchand, but it’s reasonable to believe that the Dodgers weren’t alone in their actions.

Though it means little when taken in the context of the Post piece, the idea of Ross gaining information about the inner workings of other clubs does color his managerial candidacy just a bit. Not that he was getting all covert and sneaking into offices to download files like a rogue Cardinals employee, but he has undoubtedly learned a few things that may have influenced his view on the game in general.

So even if he’s not the frontrunner for the Cubs job as many are presuming, Ross’s accumulated knowledge may still be helpful to the club.