Bubby Rossman had dreams of reaching the majors someday. He just never anticipated it would come as a pitcher.

The California native was an outfielder while playing at California State University, Dominguez Hills, where he displayed a strong arm. He recorded seven assists in right field his senior year, which culminated in winning a Division II Rawlings West Region Gold Glove Award.

Rossman, 30, got the chance to pitch a few innings in college. His strong arm in right translated to sitting in the low-90s on the mound, enticing major league clubs.

The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Rossman in the 22nd round of the 2014 MLB Draft. While some clubs were interested in drafting Rossman as a position player with the idea of transitioning him to the mound if his offense didn’t translate, the Dodgers only wanted Rossman to pitch.

In his first full season with the organization in 2015, the right-hander made 29 appearances out of the pen for their Single-A affiliate, posting a 2.26 ERA with a strikeout rate of 24.1% and inducing ground balls at a 51.1% clip.

Following a triceps injury, in which Rossman’s velocity was slow to return, the Dodgers released Rossman near the end of the 2016 season.

Thus began a five year journey of keeping his dreams of making the majors alive by playing in several independent leagues, including in Canada and Mexico.

Rossman sought out the tutelage of renowned tech-driven baseball outlets such as Driveline, Tread Athletics and Beimel Elite Athletics (co-founded by former major league reliever Joe Beimel). It was at these facilities that Rossman fine-tuned his pitch design, pitch usage and offspeed stuff.

He got his second opportunity in affiliated ball in 2022, when the Philadelphia Phillies signed Rossman to a minor league deal. In a combined 44 games between their Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, Rosman posted a 4.11 ERA, 27.4 strikeout percentage and 14.1 swinging strike percentage over 70 innings pitched.

On July 13, 2022, a 30-year-old Rossman finally made his major league debut, appearing in the eighth for the Phillies against the Toronto Blue Jays on the road. Rossman replaced Kyle Gibson on the roster, one of four Phillies who were placed on the restricted list who did not meet Canada’s Covid-19 vaccination requirements for international travelers.

Rossman allowed a leadoff walk to Alejandro Kirk, followed by a two-run home run off the bat of Teoscar Hernández. Rossman re-gained his composure and retired the next three batters on nine pitches, including recording his first career strikeout against Matt Chapman on a 99-miles per hour fastball.

Following the 2022 season, Rossman was a free agent and looking for his next chance in affiliated ball. He committed to play on Team Israel for the 2023 World Baseball Classic, a chance to represent his Jewish heritage while also using the tournament as a potential showcase for interested teams.

The hard-throwing righty made two appearances in the tournament, facing tough lineups in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. In total, Rossman tossed two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, no walks while striking out three. He averaged 96.9 miles per hour on his four-seam fastball in the tournament, and touched 99.

Rossman parlayed his impressive performance for Team Israel into a minor league contract with the New York Mets. Afforded another opportunity in affiliated ball, Rossman is appreciative and eager to continue living out his childhood dreams.

Resiliency at its finest.

I had the privilege of speaking to Rossman after signing with the Mets, where he discussed playing multiple sports as a kid, working with Driveline and Tread Athletics and getting to pitch in the World Baseball Classic.

MMO: Who were some of your favorite players growing up?

Rossman: I was never a pitcher growing up. I grew up playing third base so my favorite player was Chipper Jones because I was a switch hitter. My favorite outfielders, once I converted, were Ryan Braun and Bryce Harper.

MMO: Your father, Charley Rossman, is an actor. What was it like growing up with an actor as a dad?

Rossman: His biggest movie was “Superbad,” and that came out my freshman year of high school. Everyone came up to me and was asking me questions and stuff like that. I think that’s when it kind of blew up.

I’ve been in two baseball commercials in the past few years too. I was in a StubHub commercial in 2017 and Bank of America in 2020, just a small baseball commercial. His agent knows I play baseball and would say, “Audition for this baseball commercial.” They would find out that I actually play baseball and it became an easy hire.

Everyone always asks about him so it’s a good conversation starter. He’s met a lot of A-list celebrities. It’s obviously cool but I’ve never met any. [Laughs.] He always tells me stories though.

MMO: Your birth name is Charles Rossman III. Where did “Bubby” come from?

Rossman: It originated from Bubby Brister, an NFL quarterback in the nineties for the Steelers and Broncos. Because I’m the third, my dad’s nickname growing up was Buddy and my grandpa’s was Bud, so it was always Big Bud, Little Bud.

My parents were watching football and saw Brister, and my mom’s like, “That’s a close name to yours. Why don’t we just call him that?” That stuck since I was a baby.

I don’t think my parents thought it was going to last this long. Having Jewish heritage and bubbe meaning grandma in Yiddish is a play on words, I guess.

I can’t complain about that but it’s obviously super weird that I introduce myself as Bubby to new people. Some don’t even know my real name is Charles that I’ve known for years working out in the offseason. They think my real name is Bubby. It’s funny when they’re like, “Who’s Charles?” [Laughs.]

MMO: You were a multi-sport athlete growing up. Did you have a favorite to play?

Rossman: My parents threw me in every sport possible growing up. I think the only sport I never played was lacrosse. I did swimming, football, soccer, basketball and ice hockey.

I’d say my best sport growing up was definitely ice hockey and then baseball. Once the physical aspect of it started adding up when I got older, I had a late growth spurt, so I literally went from the first line to the fourth line. It sort of killed my drive for ice hockey by just not playing as much.

I didn’t know I was going to be this big or I probably would’ve stuck with ice hockey honestly; just the physical aspect of it would’ve been a lot easier for me. But you can’t go wrong. To make the big leagues playing baseball, [I] can’t complain anymore.

MMO: You mentioned that you were an outfielder, and that’s where you primarily played while in college. Did you ever envision that you’d make pro ball as a pitcher instead of position player?

Rossman: If you would’ve told me when I was in college or high school that I would’ve been a pitcher in pro ball, I would’ve been like, ‘I’m going to find a new sport.’ [Laughs.] I’ve pitched before and my arm was sore for a week, so it was not fun.

I would throw guys out from the outfield my sophomore/junior years and I won a Gold Glove my senior year just from my outfield assists. They (coaches) were like, “Let’s throw you on the mound, we have a couple pitchers redshirting.” I was like, ‘I might as well if I only have to throw one inning every now and then.’

I hit 90 my first time on the mound and then I think I was low-90s in the six or seven innings that I pitched in. I had no idea how to throw an offspeed pitch or anything like that, but scouts were interested and I got drafted by the Dodgers.

There were a couple of teams that wanted to draft me as a hitter and were going to give me a couple of years, and if it didn’t work out then I can switch to pitching. I was all about that but I got drafted by the Dodgers and they wanted me to pitch right away. I was like, ‘Okay, great. Let’s see how this goes.’

I had an up and down first year and then once I focused on it and had my first offseason, I put up pretty good numbers in my first full season. I was like, ‘This is something that I can actually do.’

Obviously, the last five or six years learning a whole bunch of stuff, just how to prepare and what works for me and getting better every season. I just got my third [professional] contract with the Mets, so can’t complain about that.

MMO: You brought up the difficulties of throwing offspeed pitches. Would you say that was the toughest transition going from a position player to pitcher?

Rossman: There was a lot going on. I remember the first outing I had I did really good where I went 1-2-3. Then that second outing I gave up a couple of hits and I was just like, ‘I have no idea how to hold guys.’

I was playing my first night game under the lights and my heart sped up ten times. I gave up a couple of runs and got out of it eventually. That was not fun for that first actual stressful pitching situation.

In terms of the offspeed pitches, this is my ninth year pitching and I’d say the last couple of years were the first time I was comfortable throwing my offspeed pitches. It was usually a struggle of what kind of pitch I need to throw, if I should throw a slider, curveball, changeup, split and always messing around with those.

The last year or two was the first time where I was confident in locating my offspeed [stuff] and throwing it way more. I think my first couple of years with the Dodgers I was throwing 90 percent fastballs. It’s definitely gone down to an average of 60-to-70 percent where I know I can throw that slider or changeup five or six times; double, triple, quadruple up on it if I have to.

MMO: Were the offspeed pitches something you worked on when you were with Driveline and Tread Athletics?

Rossman: Yeah. I was throwing a curveball for three years and right before I went to spring training with the Phillies, I went to Tread for a week and they were like, “Your curveball’s good but you’re not throwing it hard enough. Try this slider.”

They gave me a grip and I tossed a few and they were in the low-to-mid eighties. They said, “This is going to play way better.” I trusted them and the whole spring training I threw it.

In the first outing I struck out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with it and I’m like, ‘Okay, this is a pitch that can definitely play once I get more comfortable with it and can throw it where I want to.’

This was the first offseason throwing with it. In the World Baseball Classic, I threw it a lot and did pretty good with it; got a strikeout and a lot of weak contact with it. It’s definitely a pitch that’s been improved in the last year where I kind of was never really confident in throwing a curveball or slider in my first seven or eight years playing pro ball.

MMO: At what point did you work with Driveline?

Rossman: I was with them in 2018. It’s pretty funny because Kyle Rogers and Eric Jagers are coaches [with the Mets], and they were my two coaches when I was there in 2018.

Today (Sunday, March 19) was my first official practice and I got to see them and give them a hug. It was a little five-year homecoming. It’s pretty awesome how it came around full circle.

MMO: Can you talk about some specific work you did while with Driveline?

Rossman: I actually did pitch design a couple of times with Eric when I was there. I don’t think I ever threw on a Rapsodo before that offseason, and learning about what my pitches did was super interesting. It’s pretty common now but when I was with the Dodgers, I don’t think we did it one time. And now with some teams you can’t throw if you’re not on Rapsodo.

I always knew I had a good fastball and the numbers showed, so I didn’t really have to mess around with it. But definitely messed around with a lot of those offspeed pitches when I was there and some mechanical issues and stuff I needed to improve on.

Every pitcher has some mechanical deficiencies, so I’m just trying to be more consistent where I don’t actually have to think about it when I’m on the mound. Just be confident in my stuff.

MMO: I read that you also sought out tutelage from both Tom House and former reliever Joe Beimel.

Rossman: I’ve been with Joe Beimel’s place in L.A., that’s where I usually train in the offseason when I’m in L.A. I did work with Tom House for a couple of years in San Diego, too. I’m still using some Driveline techniques, Tom House techniques and all of the stuff I like and do it in my pre-routine every day.

MMO: The number of tech-driven outlets you’ve utilized in your development is pretty impressive.

Rossman: Yeah. I’ve been with Tread for the last couple of years and I like them just because they’re kind of a more customized program for me. That’s why I stuck with them the last couple of years.

It’s awesome just to get to work with some of the best and biggest names out there. A lot of guys can’t say they’ve done that.

MMO: After your release from the Dodgers, you went on to play for five seasons both nationally and internationally. What kept you motivated to continue chasing your baseball dream?

Rossman: Seeing some teammates get that second chance in affiliate ball, I knew that I always was good enough to get a second opportunity. That’s kind of what I wanted to do, to just get another chance with an affiliate and prove that I belong there. That’s pretty much my biggest goal.

It was a grind; it wasn’t fun playing indy ball for all those years. [Laughs.] I’m sure everyone has a story of, not how bad you’re treated, but it’s not a billion-dollar company that you’re working for. There’s a lot of pizza and hot dogs for food every day. There’s no such thing as nutrition in indy ball, it’s go on the dollar menu and save up your money from the offseason.

It was obviously fun just traveling and meeting a bunch of new guys and playing baseball all over the U.S. and Canada and Mexico.

MMO: During that period, were you only pitching? Or did you also play the field?

Rossman: There was a couple of times where I played the field just because of an injury or they didn’t have enough guys. But for the most part, it was just pitching.

MMO: You have your own website where you list your stats, career bio and scouting videos. When did you create that site?

Rossman: I’m pretty sure it was during Covid. I was just trying to get my name out there and have a website where I could send scouts to where I don’t actually have to email them. I could just give them my website and just click on it and view.

MMO: I read that you put together a highlights video and that your agent sent that out to teams, and that’s how the Phillies came to sign you to a minor league deal for the 2022 season. Is that right?

Rossman: Yeah, my agent actually sent it to their front office because he was friends with someone there. They sent it to their scouts and they decided to bring me in for a spring invite but said there was no guarantee.

I pitched well in spring training and then they sent me to Double-A.

MMO: What are your memories from your major league debut on July 13, 2022?

Rossman: It was very surprising just because I got called on an off day. The first day was not fun going to Toronto because there were five-to-six hours of flight delays and a flight cancelled. That first day I didn’t even get there until game time. I just met everyone and watched the game.

I hadn’t thrown for a couple of days because we had an off day and I pitched three innings on Friday, so I took it light those next couple of days.

I threw after the game in Toronto. They kept the lights on for me and I talked to Rob Thomson and he said they were going to activate me and hopefully get me in the game tomorrow. I was like, ‘Zack Wheeler’s pitching, there’s no chance.’ [Laughs.]

He didn’t have his A-game that day and I got to pitch in that last inning. It was a great time! My dad and brother were able to come out and watch me.

 

It wasn’t a typical flight and all that stuff, it wasn’t perfect. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world. That’s what you grow up wanting to be is a professional baseball player in MLB. It’s awesome that I can say that for the rest of my life.

MMO: Finally getting the call that you were going to the majors must have been so surreal, especially given all you went through to get to that moment.

Rossman: It was awesome! When I got the call I thought I had an asthma attack even though I don’t have asthma. I literally could not breathe and was breathing through my mouth. It was pretty funny and then I got to call all my friends and family. It was an awesome experience.

MMO: Talk to me about your recent play with Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. What was that overall experience and atmosphere like?

Rossman: We flew into Miami and then went to Jupiter and met everyone. There were a few guys that I played with in Italy for the European Championships a couple of years ago, so it wasn’t like I was going in there not knowing anyone. It was pretty awesome to see Joc [Pederson], who I worked out with in the offseason when I was with the Dodgers, and Garrett Stubbs who caught me in my debut, and being teammates with them and a few other guys that I played with.

It’s kind of funny, the first day walking into loanDepot park and meeting everyone and scrimmaging them the next day and did pretty good in that scrimmage. Went to Miami and it was the loudest stadium I think I ever heard in my life! It was a ninety percent Latin crowd and ten percent Jewish crowd, which was obviously not what you wanted to see, but playing in Miami that’s what you’d expect.

I did not think it was going to be that loud, which was probably the most awesome baseball scene that I could have imagined in my lifetime. It was literally like pitching in the World Series, which is what you could compare it to.

It was awesome getting to face some of the biggest stars for Dominican and Venezuela, and getting them out. That was able to give me a contract. The Mets called the next day, my agent negotiated with them and got the deal done in 24 hours and the next morning I flew out to Port St. Lucie. It was a quick 48 hours after we got eliminated, but [I’m] glad to be here.

MMO: It’s awesome that players get to represent their countries for the WBC, but another big draw has to be for free agents to get the opportunity to showcase their stuff on a big stage. Duque Hebbert, a pitcher for Nicaragua, also got signed to a minor league deal with a major league club (Detroit Tigers).

Rossman: I think I did pretty good with the Phillies last year and I thought they were going to re-sign me, or another team would. There were a few that were interested and never pulled the trigger, which was disappointing.

In terms of the World Baseball Classic, every player wants to play in the World Series, but every team won’t get there. I heard Mike Trout compare it to the best he’s ever played under.

Mike Trout. Photo via MLB/Team USA

It was an awesome experience to say that you got to play with some superstars and future Hall of Famers and compete against the very best. That’s what you want to do as a pro athlete is prove that you can hang with those kind of guys who are making millions of dollars.

MMO: Is it true that you met Cody Decker and Ty Kelly in 2019, and they gave you some guidance in terms of playing for Team Israel?

Rossman: Yeah. I’m pretty sure Cody Decker is a part owner of Beimel Athletics. Decker, Kelly and Zack Weiss, I met all of them at Beimel’s facility.

Cody Decker was trying to help me get on Team Israel a few years ago and was vouching for me. I was trying to get on the Olympic team for 2020, but they said the roster was full. A lot of the guys retired after that, which is how I was able to get on the team like a month later.

I know they’re playing in Prague for the European Championships at the end of September this year, but I don’t know the conflict being with the Mets. Obviously, the goal is to be in the big leagues. The goal is to not be playing in Prague at that time. [Laughs.] It’s to be helping the Mets make a playoff push.

MMO: Thanks so much for some time, Bubby. Best of luck this season.

Rossman: I appreciate it.