A 1987 draft pick of the Yankees, Ausmus chose to alternate between attending Dartmouth College and playing minor league baseball.

[4][5] Ausmus finished his playing career in 2010 ranked third in major league history with 12,839 putouts as a catcher (trailing only Iván Rodríguez and Jason Kendall), seventh in games caught with 1,938, and 10th in both range factor/game (7.12) and fielding percentage (.994).

He also ranked first all-time among all Jewish major leaguers in career games played (1,971), fifth in hits (1,579), and eighth in runs batted in (607), directly behind Mike Lieberthal.

In November 2013, Ausmus became the 38th manager in the history of the Detroit Tigers, succeeding Jim Leyland, a position he held for four years.

Ausmus was a coach for Team Israel, under manager Ian Kinsler, when it competed in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

[11][12][13] His mother, Linda Susan (née Dronsick), was Jewish, and his father, Harry Jack Ausmus, was Protestant.

[14][15] His father is a retired professor of European history at Southern Connecticut State University, and the author of A Schopenhauerian Critique of Nietzsche's Thought, which Ausmus calls his "favorite book.

But, however, in the last 10 or so years, I have had quite a few young Jewish boys who will tell me that I am their favorite player or they love watching me play or they feel like baseball is a good fit...

Ausmus graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts in government, and was a member of Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity and the Sphinx Senior Society.

The Rockies traded Ausmus with Andy Ashby and Doug Bochtler to the San Diego Padres for Bruce Hurst and Greg Harris in July 1993.

[31] He made his major league debut two days later, when he started for the Padres against the Chicago Cubs, and had a single in three at bats.

[34] In January 1999, the Astros traded Ausmus an Nitkowski to the Tigers for Paul Bako, Dean Crow, Brian Powell, and minor leaguers Carlos Villalobos and Mark Persails.

In December 2000, the Tigers traded Ausmus, Doug Brocail, and Nelson Cruz to the Houston Astros for Roger Cedeño, Chris Holt, and Mitch Meluskey.

[39][40] Ausmus, lauded for his baseball smarts and highly regarded by teammates, was widely considered managerial material once his playing career ended.

[41] Ausmus won the 2007 Darryl Kile Award "for integrity and courage", presented annually by local chapters of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) to players on the Astros and St. Louis Cardinals.

[42] The Astros planned for Ausmus to play on a part-time basis and mentor J. R. Towles, who would catch the majority of the games.

[52][53][54] On January 26, 2009, Ausmus agreed to a 1-year, $1 million deal (plus incentives) to be a back-up catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

[5] Ausmus nabbed a league-leading 39 opposing baserunners (41.9%) in 1995, second in the NL to Florida Marlins' Charles Johnson, and led the league's catchers with 14 double plays and 63 assists.

[9][69] He made his franchise-record eighth Opening Day start at catcher for the Astros in 2007, breaking a tie with Alan Ashby.

On July 22 of that year, Ausmus passed Gary Carter to move into sole possession of second place in major league career putouts by a catcher.

In addition, he passed Ted Simmons that day to take sole possession of 12th place all-time on the games caught list, with 1,772.

[75] Among active catchers with at least 600 games played, he finished the 2009 season ranked tied for fourth with a .994 career fielding percentage behind Mike Redmond (.996), Joe Mauer (.996), and A. J. Pierzynski (.995).

[53] Ausmus finished his career in 2010 ranked third in major league history with 12,839 putouts as a catcher, trailing only Iván Rodríguez and Jason Kendall, seventh in games caught with 1,938, and 10th in both range factor/game (7.12) and fielding percentage (.994).

[79] In his first year as manager, Ausmus led the Tigers to a 90–72 record, winning the American League Central division title.

Despite their potent starting rotation, the Tigers were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2014 American League Division Series.

[81] In his third season, the Tigers finished in second place in the AL Central division with an 86–75 record, 2.5 games out of the second postseason Wild Card spot.

[85] The others were Gabe Kapler, Bob Melvin, Jeff Newman, Norm Sherry, Lou Boudreau, and Lipman Pike.

[90] On November 7, it was announced that Ausmus was seeking a front office position and would not return the bench coach role in 2023.

[94][95][96][97] Israel lost to Spain in extra innings in the pool finals, missing out on a spot in the main WBC tournament.

[98][99][100] Ausmus was a coach for Team Israel, under manager Ian Kinsler, when it competed in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.