Ross is Boss.

Granted, I know I am not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to baseball, but I do recognize great players and teams when I see them. And the Giants are definitely not one of them… kidding! Only kidding. I fully realize the intense love that over half of the student body at UCSB feels for this talented group of goofballs, led by none other than a guy dubbed “the Freak.” However, the Giants, in their Halloween-themed uniforms, have one pumpkin in particularto thank for their postseason success.

I am here to shed light on the little spark that is Cody Ross. Over time, fans of baseball have come to expect a certain something when the fall classic hits. I am talking about each team’s Mr. October. Sometimes he varies per series, sometimes he is consistent throughout the entire playoffs, but he is always there. Often a come-from-nowhere type guy, each team’s Mr. October seems to hit his stride just in time to lift his team, his fans, and his city to championship fervor.

Cody Ross is that such player for the Giants. Dismissed with the wave of a hand by the lowly Florida Marlins, the Giants are his fifth major league team in seven years. However, he seems to like where he landed, as his stats in the 2010 postseason show that he’ll be an honorary NorCal bro until the end. In seven games, he has four homeruns, seven RBI, eight hits, a .350 hitting percentage, and a .435 on base percentage. Whenever Ross steps up to the plate, he is as sure to get on or around the basesas Lindsay Lohan is to wind up in jail again.

And Ross isn’t hitting off Grandma Jo over there. No, sir. He is hitting home runs off of such pitching legends as the Phillies’ two Roy’s, Halladay and Oswalt. Just a mere four hours ago, he drove in a run off of pitching ace Cole Hamels, the one-time boy wonder. Ross has not only outperformed both his competition and teammates, but he is straight up trumping the usual heavy-hitters. Ryan Howard, the Philly bomber, has registered zero HR’s in the playoffs. Jimmy Rollins, always a consistent hitter, has  four RBI’s and three hits, but only a .286 on base percentage. Ross’ teammate, Aubrey Huff, known for his RBI prowess over the past season, has only one RBI thus far, with a .217 hitting average.

Who knows how long Ross will be boss of the Bay? Maybe he’s simply best kept secret in this perfect bubble of the playoffs, separate from any other time in the long, enduring baseball season. Or maybe he’ll ignite into a late-blooming Hall of Famer. Whichever it is, for this moment, in this postseason, Ross rules.