Mark DeRosa

Mark Thomas DeRosa is a professional baseball player currently signed with the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was born on February 26, 1975 in Passaic, New Jersey.

DeRosa was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 7th round of the June 1996 free agent draft. He made his Major League debut for the Braves on September 2, 1998. In 2004, DeRosa was granted free agency and signed a one-year contract with the Texas Rangers on January 19, 2005.

On November 14, 2006, DeRosa signed with the Chicago Cubs. In 2008, he helped the Cubs to the best record in the National League by logging career highs in home runs, with 21, and RBIs with 87. He was traded on December 31 to the Cleveland Indians.

DeRosa attended Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey where he earned all-state honors in baseball and in football.

He attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the starting quarterback in the 1993-95 seasons, as well as playing varsity baseball from 1994 to 1996. He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and in 2009 was honored by being named a Significant Sig. an award given to Sigma Chis who have done an absolutely outstanding job in their profession. DeRosa was also one of six Ivy Leaguers on major league rosters at the beginning of the 2009 season.  When he was in college he was Penn's Quarterback.

MLB Career

Atlanta Braves

DeRosa made his MLB debut on September 2, 1998 as a shortstop for the Atlanta Braves. From '98-'01, DeRosa spent much of his time as a backup utility player, playing both infield and outfield. In 2002, though still playing as a backup, DeRosa was starting to play more and more, and enjoyed a successful batting average of .297.

DeRosa started the 2004 season as the starting third baseman for the Braves. He had been strictly a backup the previous bunch of years, 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 for pitchers Jason Marquis, Ray King, and Adam Wainwright. At the end of 2004, the Braves declined to offer DeRosa a contract for the 2005 season.


Texas Rangers

After the Braves declined to offer DeRosa a contract, he signed with the Texas Rangers. He logged little playing time due to injuries in 2005 which delayed him from playing in the starting lineup. Finally healthy in May of 2006, he received the opportunity to start. DeRosa responded to this 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, and batted a respectable .296. He set a career high with getting 40 doubles.


Chicago Cubs

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 2007, his first year with the Cubs. 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. DeRosa batted .293 with 10 home runs and 74 RBIs. DeRosa on February 23, 2008, was taken to a hospital after having trouble breathing and having a rapid heart beat.

On February 28, 2008 DeRosa had a successful heart procedure at Northwestern Memorial Hospital to correct an irregular heartbeat. His heart procedure earned him the nickname of "the Pulse", which was also the name of his blog on www.cubs.com.

DeRosa had a very successful 2008 season, where he helped the Cubs to the best record in the National League. He had career highs in home runs with 21 and RBIs with 87.


Cleveland Indians

On December 31, 2008, DeRosa was traded to the Cleveland Indians for minor league pitchers Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer, and John Gaub. Playing third base for the Indians, DeRosa collected his first hit with the Tribe on April 10 and his first Home Run on April 12. In addition to playing 3rd base for the Indians, he also spent time at first base and in the outfield. Many early-season injuries to Indians regulars caused DeRosa to be moved around the field and the batting order throughout the season. In spite of this, he was on pace to make 2009 his most productive season yet.

He received a standing ovation from Cubs fans when the Cleveland Indians played at Wrigley Field on June 19, 2009.


St. Louis Cardinals

On June 27, 2009, DeRosa was traded by Cleveland to the Cardinals for relief pitchers Chris Perez and Jess Todd . He spent some time on the disabled list with a wrist injury, and filed for free agency for the 2010 season, turning down the Cardinals' offer of salary arbitration.


San Francisco Giants

On December 29, 2009, DeRosa signed a 2 year $12 million contract with the San Francisco Giants.

DeRosa is married to former model Heidi Miller, with whom he has a daughter, Gabriella Faith and a son, Mark DeRosa Jr. that they raised in Chicago.