July 23, 2007
by Scott Ball (this story originally appeared in the summer issue of Cal Sports Quarterly)
For Tyson Ross, Cal's supremely
talented sophomore right-hander, it is
all about family.
In Ross' case, it is not only about his immediate family -
father Willie, mother Jean, sister Francesca and brother Joe
- but his Golden Bear family, as well. For this phenomenal
college pitcher who is developing into one of the school's
all-time greats, the campus of the University of California
has almost always felt like home.
"I used to go to Cal baseball camps every summer growing
up," explained Ross, who was raised in Oakland and
attended Bishop O'Dowd High School. "First it was former
coach Bob Milano's camp when I was eight, then it
was David Esquer's camp from then on. I would even go to
the All Sports Camps up at Strawberry Canyon. It seemed
like I was always at Cal playing sports. It was a part of my
growing up."
Ross has now matured into a robust 6-5, 215 pounds and
is utilizing all the skills he acquired as a Cal youth camper
to the fullest of his abilities. He is the Bears' No. 1 starter
on the mound and has established himself among the upper echelon of collegiate pitchers. After an
impressive freshman campaign in 2006 in
which he was selected honorable mention
All-Pac-10, going 6-4 with a 3.19 ERA
and 85 strikeouts in 84.2 innings, Ross was
even better in 2007.
This past spring, Ross was named a semifinalist
for the Golden Spikes Award as the
nation's top collegiate baseball player, and
was among the Pac-10 leaders in strikeouts,
earned run average, innings pitched
and opponent batting average. He was selected
the March 25 National Player of the
Week by Collegiate Baseball after striking
out 16 batters, only three away from the
school record of 19 set by Larry Colton in
1963, with only one walk in seven innings
against Oral Roberts.
On the year, Ross was a hard-luck 6-6,
but had a 2.49 ERA with 120 strikeouts in
115.2 innings. An indication of his tough
fortune, he lost four, one-run games, including
two, 1-0 decisions. Ross threw at
least six innings 15 times during the season,
including a complete game at Stanford
March 2.
For his career, Ross already has 205
strikeouts in 200.1 innings with a 2.79
ERA. His strikeout total places him ninth
on Cal's career list and just 79 K's away
from the school record.
"I remember when I first stepped on the
mound as a freshman, I was thinking about
all the Cal games I had watched growing
up," said Ross. "And I think about all the
kids watching me now, just like I used to
watch Cal players when I was young. I
learned back then, watching those games at
Evans Diamond, I wanted to be a Bear."
Ross also learned how to throw his dominating
curveball from his future pitching
coach as a youth camper at Evans Diamond.
"I learned how to throw a curveball from
coach (Dan) Hubbs at Cal Camp when I
was 15," said Ross. "With his help, it came
really easy for me."
It is not every day that a coach gets a
chance to teach a youngster a craft, and
then has the benefit of coaching that player
in college and seeing him develop into one
of the nation's best.
"No doubt it is a unique circumstance to
be the one who taught Tyson how to throw
a breaking pitch and then to have the opportunity
to see everything progress for
him," said Hubbs, who is now in his eighth
season mentoring the Cal pitching staff.
"He has a chance to be better than anyone I
have ever coached at Cal. He has unbelievable
poise on the mound. The key to Tyson
is his feel for the game ... how instinctual
his pitching is. He is an excellent athlete, a
complete pitcher and his work ethic is second
to none. He is a joy to coach. But as
good of a baseball player as he is, he is an
even better person."
With his engaging smile and easy-going
manner, as well as his ability on the field,
Ross has become an ambassador of sorts for the Cal baseball program. He is part of
Cal's youth brigade that listed 26 underclassmen
on the 39-man squad this past
spring, including freshman outfielder Jeff
Kobernus, who was a high school teammate
of Ross at Bishop O'Dowd.
"It is a lot of fun to have `Kobe' on the
team," said Ross. "We are starting to have
fun here like we did in high school ... going
out and having a good time on the field and
winning. I really like this team. It is mostly
Bay Area kids who have played together on
all-star teams or against each other. We have
a feel of local pride with a lot of friends and
family around to cheer us on. I love it here
at Cal - the school, the athletics, the town
of Berkeley. We have great coaches. Coach
Hubbs and coach Esquer are great people
to work with. With coaches like that, the
sky is the limit. I am really looking forward
to the future."
In addition to pitching for the Bears,
Ross also has experience as a two-year
member of the USA Junior National team
in 2004 and 2005. A highlight for the Oakland
native in international competition
came in the fall of 2005 when he threw five
shutout innings against powerhouse Cuba
in a tournament in Villahermosa, Mexico.
This summer, Ross will be with the USA
National team for the Pan American Games
in Brazil and World Championships in The
Netherlands.
Having had the opportunity to travel
around the globe representing the United
States, it is his relationship with his family
that helped convince Ross to stay local and
attend Cal.
"My family is very important to me,"
said Ross, whose father, Willie, is a pediatrician,
and mother, Jean, is a nurse at the
Children's Hospital in Oakland. "That is
why I went to Cal, to stay close to home so
my family could see me play."
Intending to major in American studies,
Ross would like to coach some day after
completing his degree and playing baseball
professionally. With his tall frame, good
velocity and wide array of pitches, the Cal
hurler is projected be one of the nation's top
picks in the June 2008 Major League Draft.
When time allows, Ross also enjoys
helping his dad coach his younger brother,
Joe, 13, who pitches and plays shortstop,
just like Tyson did as a youngster. Ross'
sister, Frankie, also an athlete, is a senior at
Bishop O'Dowd and will be playing soccer
at Portland State next fall.
"Beyond Tyson's ability, he is a product
of a good family," said Esquer. "He is the
total package in what you would want in a
college athlete ... he does all the little things
that make someone successful. His Friday
night performances have been as good as
anyone we have ever had. Tyson is so well-liked
that players from his junior national
teams want to come to Cal. He is one of
those people both likeable to younger kids
and likeable to adults. He has a smile that
is infectious."
