Ross sings Willie Harris praises as potential manager originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Cubs manager David Ross offered a vote of confidence in his third-base coach, Willie Harris as a potential manager — whether that might be as a second-time candidate for the White Sox or any other team.
“He’s got a lot more experience than I did when I took this job,” said Ross, who hadn’t managed at any level when hired by the Cubs after the 2019 season. “And I don’t know if I would ever say you know exactly what this job entails until you get into it.
“I know Willie works his butt off. The players respect him. The players love him,” Ross added. “He’s got a ton of experience. He’s been on a world championship team, in this city.
RELATED: Cubs 3B coach Willie Harris ‘ready’ to manage White Sox
“He’s got a great baseball mind and has a lot of experiences to pull from.”
The Sox are expected to announce the retirement of manager Tony La Russa on Monday.
Harris, a key role player for the Sox’ 2005 Word Series champ and a former minor-league manager in their system, interviewed for that job the last time it was open and told NBC Sports Chicago in recent days that he hoped to be considered again if La Russa stepped down.
“As bad as it would be to lose him around here — he’s a pretty special human being,” Ross said, “if that’s something he’s interested in — and sounds like he is — then we’ll wish him the best and try to help him fulfill his dreams.”
Harris, 44, was hired by the Cubs before last season.
“Hopefully, my name’s in their thoughts,” Harris said. “And we’ll see what happens from there.”
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