Mark DeRosa Information & Mark DeRosa Links at HealthHaven.com

**Mark DeRosa**
Mark DeRosa
;
	St. Louis Cardinals — No. 7
	Infielder/Outfielder
	Born: February 26, 1975 (age 34); Passaic, New Jersey
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
	September 2, 1998 for the Atlanta Braves
Career statistics; (through August 27, 2009)
Batting average	.277
Doubles	168
Home runs	90
Runs batted in	419
Slugging percentage	.426
Teams
	Atlanta Braves (1998-2004); Texas Rangers (2005-2006); Chicago Cubs (2007-2008); Cleveland Indians (2009); St. Louis Cardinals (2009-present);

Mark Thomas DeRosa (born February 26, 1975) is a Major League Baseball infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. DeRosa is a utility player who has been primarily a second baseman, but can play other positions; he played six positions for the Chicago Cubs.^[1] He bats right-handed.

DeRosa was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 7th round of the June 1996 free agent draft. In his 2,928 career at bats through 2009, he had a .278 batting average, 82 home runs, 815 hits, 453 runs, and 402 RBIs.

[edit] High school and college

DeRosa was born in Passaic, New Jersey. ^[2] He attended Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey where he earned all-state honors in baseball and in football.^[3]

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.[2]

[edit] MLB career

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 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.

[edit] Chicago Cubs

DeRosa warms up before a game on July 9, 2008.

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.^[4] DeRosa on February 23, 2008, was taken to a hospital after having trouble breathing and having a rapid heart beat.^[5]

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.

[edit] Cleveland Indians

DeRosa with the Indians on April 16, 2009.

On December 31, 2008, DeRosa was traded to the Cleveland Indians for minor league pitchers Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer, and John Gaub. ^[6] 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. ^[7]

[edit] St. Louis Cardinals

On June 27, 2009 Mark DeRosa was traded by Cleveland to the Cardinals for relief pitcher Chris Perez and relief pitcher Jess Todd .^[8]

[edit] Career statistics

G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	TB	RBI	SB	CS	SH	SF	BB	IBB	HBP	SO	GIDP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
964	3294	2928	453	815	164	10	90	1245	402	19	14	13	29	281	16	43	548	70	.278	.347	.425	.772

Through June 27, 2009^[9]

DeRosa has filed for free agency for the 2010 season.^[10]

[edit] Personal life

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.

[edit] References

^ DeRosa is Never Out of Position NY Times, March 22, 2009
^ Mark DeRosa player profile, accessed December 19, 2006.
^ Wallace, William N. (1994-09-25). "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Penn Holds Its Ground To Edge Dartmouth". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06EFD8123AF936A1575AC0A962958260. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
^ Muskat, Carrie (2008-01-16). "DeRosa concerned about playing time". mlb.com. http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080115&content_id=2346350&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
^ Associated Press (2008-02-23). "Piniella: DeRosa 'doing fine' after experiencing irregular heartbeat". espn.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2008/news/story?id=3260797. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
^ Tribe acquires DeRosa from Cubs
^ [1]
^ Cards acquire Mark DeRosa from Indians
^ http://www.baseballprospectus.com/statistics/sortable/index.php?cid=466267
^ www.stlouiscardinals.com

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mark DeRosa

Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
Mark DeRosa website
Official blog
"The Pulse" at MLBlogs.com
Schwarz, Alan (2008-09-23). "Blue-Collar Ivy Leaguer Is Cubs’ Secret Weapon". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/24/sports/baseball/24cubs.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2008-09-23.

[0] DeRosa is Never Out of Position NY Times, March 22, 2009

[1] Mark DeRosa player profile, accessed December 19, 2006.

[2] Wallace, William N. (1994-09-25). "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Penn Holds Its Ground To Edge Dartmouth". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06EFD8123AF936A1575AC0A962958260. Retrieved 2008-09-23.

[3] Muskat, Carrie (2008-01-16). "DeRosa concerned about playing time". mlb.com. http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080115&content_id=2346350&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc. Retrieved 2008-09-23.

[4] Associated Press (2008-02-23). "Piniella: DeRosa 'doing fine' after experiencing irregular heartbeat". espn.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2008/news/story?id=3260797. Retrieved 2008-09-23.

[5] Tribe acquires DeRosa from Cubs

[6] [1]

[7] Cards acquire Mark DeRosa from Indians

[8] ttp://www.baseballprospectus.com/statistics/sortable/index.php?cid=466267

[9] www.stlouiscardinals.com

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

Contents