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Mark DeRosa

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Mark DeRosa
Mark DeRosa warms up before a game.
Cleveland Indians – No. --
Second baseman / Utility player
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
debut
September 2, 1998, for the Atlanta Braves
Career statistics
(through 2008 season)
Batting average.279
Home runs69
Runs batted in352
Teams

Mark Thomas DeRosa (born February 26, 1975 in Carlstadt, New Jersey) is a Major League Baseball infielder for the Cleveland Indians. DeRosa has been primarily a second baseman but can play other positions; he bats right-handed. DeRosa was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 7th round of the June 1996 free agent draft. In his 2,409 career at bats, he has a .279 batting average, 69 home runs, 740 hits, 406 runs, and 352 RBI.

High school and college

DeRosa attended Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey, with Jim Finn of the New York Giants, where he earned all-state honors in baseball and football.[1] He attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the starting quarterback in the 1993-1995 seasons, as well as playing varsity baseball from 1994 to 1996. He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.

MLB career

DeRosa started the 2004 season as the starting third baseman for the Braves. He had been strictly a backup the previous year, but the departure of Vinny Castilla opened the spot for him. His performance as a starter was widely considered unacceptable. DeRosa himself spoke openly of his poor performance, declaring in one interview that even his mother couldn't tell him she thought he was playing well. After about a month, DeRosa was demoted back to a backup. Chipper Jones moved from left field to third base, where he had played his whole career until 2002. Jones was replaced in left field by a platoon of Charles Thomas, an unknown rookie, and Eli Marrero, a fairly obscure catcher/outfielder who was considered the much less important half of the trade in which the Braves acquired him and J.D. Drew.

After the Braves declined to offer DeRosa a contract for the 2005 season, he signed with the Rangers, logging little playing time until injuries delayed him from playing in the starting lineup until May 2006. DeRosa responded to this opportunity by hitting well over .300 for the first half of the season. At season's end, he topped his career high in RBI with 74, eclipsing his previous career high of 31. DeRosa also set a career high in home runs, with 13.

On November 14, 2006 he signed to a three-year, $13 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. DeRosa's signing was one of several off-season acquisitions by the Cubs in their spending spree. He was a pleasant surprise at the plate in his first year with the Cubs. In 2007, he appeared in 149 games for the Cubs, with the majority of his time at second base, but filling in at times all over the field. [2]. DeRosa on February 23, 2008 was taken to a hospital after having trouble breathing and having a rapid heart beat.[3]

On February 28, 2008 DeRosa had a successful heart procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat. After the procedure he was resting at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The procedure was performed by Dr. Alan Kadish. His heart procedure earned him the nickname of "the pulse" which he entitled his blog on www.cubs.com

On December 31, 2008 DeRosa was traded to the Cleveland Indians for minor league pitchers Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer, and John Gaub. [4]

Personal life

DeRosa is married to model Heidi Miller, with whom he has a daughter, Gabriella Faith. They reside on the North Side of Chicago. He has his own website at [1]www.markderosa7.com, where he writes a personal blog about his career, his experiences as a quarterback at UPenn and the Cubs' chances of breaking the curse of the Billy Goat. He also analyzes the pennant race and reports on the latest Cubs news. The site also includes special media for fans, message boards, exclusive pics and autographed merchandise. He also has a blog called "The Pulse" at MLB.com [5]

Career statistics

Through September 10, 2008

G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI SB CS SH SF BB IBB HBP SO GIDP AVG OBP SLG OPS VORP
882 2942 2615 398 730 147 10 68 1101 348 18 13 12 26 250 15 39 481 64 .279 .348 .421 .769 87.9

References

  1. ^ Wallace, William N. (1994-09-25). "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Penn Holds Its Ground To Edge Dartmouth". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-23. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ Muskat, Carrie (2008-01-16). "DeRosa concerned about playing time". mlb.com. Retrieved 2008-09-23. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ Associated Press (2008-02-23). "Piniella: DeRosa 'doing fine' after experiencing irregular heartbeat". espn.com. Retrieved 2008-09-23. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ Tribe acquires DeRosa from Cubs
  5. ^ The Pulse
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