When Mark DeRosa sat on the bench during his early years in Atlanta, he spent time listening to his teammates’ stories. And through each conversation, the former Brave learned that every player, no matter how highly touted he was, had an interesting one to tell.
Now, almost 12 years since his retirement in 2013, DeRosa has the honor of sharing those stories as an analyst for MLB Network.
“Everybody had moments of doubt, everyone had moments of success,” DeRosa told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution during All-Star Week. “So I really felt like I could be a nice voice for them.”
DeRosa aims to provide a safe place as a media member for players to share their true selves with fans. In a world filled with hot takes and “people yelling at each other” — in the words of DeRosa — he prioritizes presenting each athlete as a human before a baseball player.
“It means the world,” DeRosa said of covering the game he once played. “I want (players) to think this is a safe space for them to land. I think 90% of us never knew we were getting in the big leagues. It’s like you’re thrust into this microscopic world, and everyone, at times, could think you’re a robot. I don’t, so I try and humanize them.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
The Braves drafted DeRosa in 1996 out of the University of Pennsylvania. The seventh-round pick debuted two years later and eventually played for eight clubs in his 16-year career.
He came up learning from Hall of Famers like Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and Chipper Jones. Jones, who DeRosa coached alongside in the All-Star Futures Game, took him under his wing early.
“He took a liking to me and kind of showed me the ropes,” DeRosa said. “(He) was brutally honest with me throughout the course of my time with the Braves. That’s what I appreciated.”
Jones was not the only Brave to be blunt with DeRosa early in his career. Manager Bobby Cox also implemented the style, and even though DeRosa did not always agree with his manager’s assessment, Cox’s words made him work harder while instilling the expectation of winning.
Cox’s honesty also made a post-career run-in with him even more special for DeRosa. The two attended a George Strait concert for a charity event put on by former Braves pitcher Tim Hudson, and Cox told DeRosa something that every player craves from their manager.
“He just told me he was proud,” DeRosa said. “‘I’m proud that you were able to go on and have a nice career and do all these things.’ The fact that he was still watching (means a lot) because I owe a lot to him.”
Credit: Scott Audette
Credit: Scott Audette
DeRosa grew up in New Jersey, where he watched every Yankee game with his father and older brother. But the family did not view the games as average fans; instead, they used each one as film practice, going through key situations and moments.
“He was very good at always saying, ‘I see something special. I think you can pull this off. I think you can do this,’” DeRosa said of his dad. “That positive affirmation always stuck in the back of my head as I was playing.”
DeRosa opted to attend Pennsylvania, an Ivy League school, and play both baseball and football. Being a dual-sport collegiate athlete forced him to learn time management skills, but it also required DeRosa to occasionally burn the candle at both ends.
On certain days, he would play a midweek baseball game at 3 p.m. before attending a 7 p.m. spring football practice. And that was on top of completing his classwork — at the Ivy League level — the next morning.
But all of the hard work led to where DeRosa is now, which is sitting at a desk on MLB Network, covering the game he loves.
“I don’t feel like it’s work,” DeRosa said of his show MLB Central, which celebrated 1,000 episodes together. “I really, truly care about (co-analysts Lauren Shehadi and Robert Flores) as people. We’ve built an amazing relationship with each other. We respect each other’s work. We’re willing to pass the ball. It’s just like anything with a great team — you’ve got to have great chemistry, and they’re just good, real good people.”
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
