Manager Ross Talks All Things Cubs

Chicago Cubs manager David Ross recently appeared as a guest on “The *State* of Florida Sports Podcast,” powered by the USA TODAY Network.

Ross, who hails from Tallahassee, Fla., talked about a variety of subjects.

On his hometown: “They treat me pretty good here. I definitely hear stories from people still telling me about that home run at Auburn and going to Florida and you know, I've got some Gator friends too. So they backed me up here and there. But I grew up watching FSU, my high school was on the campus at Florida State. ... Some people still give me a hard time, but I think it's all in fun."

On winning the World Series in 2016: “My favorite thing about that is people coming up and telling their stories, their history, where they were, what they were thinking, who they were thinking about. It just, you know, brings back great memories and that's what it's all about."

On expectations for this year’s team: “I love the athleticism we have in the middle and especially with the shift being gone and we've added some speed and we got really good baseball players, high IQ, great character guys that are going to come in and work hard and compete every single day. I can't wait to get out to spring training and start this journey."