Joe Maddon Is Grooming David Ross To Be A Manager Someday

(CBS) As he continues his quality play in what he's previously said will be his 15th and final MLB season, Cubs catcher David Ross has heard a few calls for him to delay his retirement and come back for the 2017 season.

As it sits, the 39-year-old Ross isn't sure of what's ahead. He just knows he'll have options, and one of them figures to be the chance to coach and manage the game. Many believe Ross has a managerial career ahead of him if he wants to go down that path. Cubs manager Joe Maddon is one of them, and with that in mind, he's trying to groom Ross as much as he can.

"Joe's great, he's teaching me a ton," Ross said on the Mully and Hanley Show on Friday. "Just watching him on a day-to-day basis, I'm learning so much -- just about how to handle people, the game and he's just got such a unique eye for the game from the managerial situations that I've seen ever in my career. It's fun to be a part of.

"Everybody wants to know what's going on with me and this and that. I tell them, 'Let's wait until September.' We still have a long ways to go. If my body holds up -- we want to do this thing for at least another five months if we want to go where we want to go, so we got a long ways to go. I appreciate all the compliments."

Earlier in the week, Maddon made clear that he's staying out of Ross' retirement decision and supports him in whatever he wants to do.

"I've just been trying to talk to him as much as I can about game situations and managing and what tomorrow holds for him and just try to give him any benefits from my past experience," Maddon said. "Because this guy could be really good at it."

Listen to Ross' full interview on Mully and Hanley below.