Sport: Baseball
Born: February 26, 1975
Town: Passaic, New Jersey
Mark Thomas DeRosa was born February 26, 1975 in Passaic. Mark attended Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, where he was the top hitter on the baseball team and the quarterback of the football team. He earned all-state recognition as a senior in both sports for the Crusaders. Among his gridiron teammates were running back Jim Finn, who would reunite with him in college.
In 1993, Mark was accepted at the University of Pennsylvania and studied at Penn’s Wharton School. He was the Quakers’ starting quarterback for three years—leading the school to a pair of Ivy League titles—and also played baseball for three seasons.
The Atlanta Braves drafted Mark at the end of his junior year and he decided to enter pro baseball. He would graduate from Penn in 1997. Mark played shortstop in the Braves’ minor-league system and was called up to the majors for the first time in 1998. Mark finally stuck with the team in 2001. His live bat and ability to play multiple positions made him a valuable utilityman for a team that went to the postseason every year.
In 2005, Mark signed a free-agent deal with the Texas Rangers. In 2006, he became an everyday player for the first time at age 31, manning the outfield and second base. He responded with career highs in doubles, homers and RBIs, and batted .296. That performance earned him a generous free-agent contract from the Chicago Cubs, where he played second base for two seasons and hit 20 homers for the first time.
The Cubs traded Mark to the Cleveland Indians prior to the 2009 seasons, and during that season the Indians traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Chris Perez. Near the end of the year, Mark tore the tendon sheath in his wrist. Mark signed with the San Francisco Giants in 2010, but the wrist soreness prevented him from making much of a contribution to their pennant run. He caught on with the Washington Nationals in 2012, but spent more time on the DL and the bench than on the field. For the young Nats, however, he provided sterling clubhouse leadership and was one of the reasons they finished with the best record in baseball that year.
Mark played the 2013 season with the Toronto Blue Jays and retired shortly after slugging his 100th career home run. In 2014, he joined the MLB Network team as a studio analyst and became one of the game’s most popular and insightful on-air personalities. Mark’s deep knowledge of the game and his friendly manner led to his being named manager of Team USA for the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Team USA reached the knockout stage of the tournament, and then defeated Venezuela 9–7 and Cuba 14–2 to reach the finals against Japan. They fell just short of a title, losing 3–2. The final out came on a wipeout slider in a thrilling showdown between Shohei Ohtani and his Angels teammate Mike Trout. Trout and Trea Turner were named to the all-tournament team.