On the Mark

BY KEVIN KERNAN

Being born on the Fourth of July makes me root even harder for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. I’m also rooting for Mark DeRosa, Team USA manager.

No matter how the tournament turns out, and I think Team USA, which is off to a 2-0 start in pool play, will win it for the second time in its history, DeRosa has already won in my book. Through his leadership and passion, he has aligned the US stars like never before in this tournament to form a juggernaut. It is not easy to get millionaires to pull on the same diamond encrusted rope.

And now DeRosa has even got back-to-back AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, who has a $400 million payday staring him in the face in this his free agent year, considering returning to Team USA for a second start.

That is salesmanship of the highest order – and a commitment to a team goal. Credit DeRosa who has spent the past year selling the players on the WBC.

Like Aaron Judge said about the Team USA baseball caps that feature US, “It’s all about US.’’

Yes, it is. That is all because of the work DeRosa has put in putting together this squad. Not to mention that DeRosa, like me, and BallNine boss Chris Vitali, is a Jersey Guy.

DeRosa was a star in both baseball and football at New Jersey powerhouse Bergen Catholic in Oradell, a quarterback and a shortstop. In high school, DeRosa’s Crusaders played the Belleville Buccaneers baseball team that featured another BallNine pal Rocco Constantino, an NNJIL matchup.

Yes, Mark DeRosa sure has seen a lot happen in the game, from high school to college to MLB and now the WBC.

“It’s a great story and even better,’’ Constatino, a pitcher on that Belleville team, told The Story on Sunday, “DeRosa was the losing pitcher. This was 1992 and at that time in the season they were eighth in the state. We were off to a good start, and it was pretty early in the year. We were traveling up to Bergen, and everybody knew the hype around them. They were a great team, a Catholic powerhouse. We played them in football and got killed that fall and DeRosa was the quarterback. Our coach said it was really going to be tough to compete with them so let’s try something new.

“He put our shortstop – my buddy Kevin Johansen – on the mound, he wasn’t a pitcher, but he just threw knuckleballs all game and we beat them, 2-0. We scratched across a run in the first inning and then DeRosa threw a wild pitch in the second inning; we got a second run and then he locked us down, we didn’t get anything the rest of the game, but we played defense and our guy got it done,’’ Constantino said of that “Glory Days’’ game from 34 years ago, recalling details like it was yesterday.

Like every baseball story, there is more to the story and Constantino, who is athletic director at Middlesex College in Edison, NJ., added, “Kevin learned the knuckleball from his older sister Stacey, who was an All-State softball player who played (shortstop and pitcher) for Brown University. She learned to throw a knuckleball and he did as well. And that worked that game for us.’’

It sure did. That’s baseball, Suzyn. Anything can happen on any given day.

And as the Bergen Record reported the next day in its baseball roundup: “Kevin Johansen scattered five hits as Belleville handed Bergen Catholic its first loss, 2-0. Rich Quine hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning, and the other run came in on Mark DeRosa’s wild pitch.’’

Yes, Mark DeRosa sure has seen a lot happen in the game, from high school to college to MLB and now the WBC.

DeRosa’s career spanned 16 years in Major League Baseball with seven of those seasons coming with the Braves under Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox. DeRosa also played for another HOF manager Tony La Russa and future Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy, three men I know quite well, three of the greatest managers in baseball history.

They all have The Right Stuff when it comes to managing. DeRosa learned the fundamentals of the game, and he learned how to act, how to respect the game from such players as Hall of Famer Chipper Jones and current Braves manager Walt Weiss.

One thing Chipper told me many years ago that I still remember is that under Bobby Cox the Braves were taught never ever cover up the logo on the front the Braves cap by putting sunglasses over the logo.

There is respect for the logo and respect for the team. Baseball is built on respect at every level.

And that brings me to the main point of this column.

Why isn’t Mark DeRosa managing a major league club?

He seems perfect for the job, and I don’t know if you have noticed lately but they sure are handing our MLB managerial jobs left and right to people who do not have his experience.

Mark DeRosa has shown he is perfect for Team USA, and this WBC experience should be a springboard to a major league managing gig for DeRosa. This is a no brainer. It is time. DeRosa is 51, he is a staple on MLB Network with his popular show MLB Central and is so passionate about the game. Simply put, Mark DeRosa is everything you would want in a major league manager. He is a fierce competitor who also, like I said, was a quarterback in high school and college. Being a competitor is the sixth tool nowadays.

And like many front office Nerds in the game, DeRosa even went to an Ivy League school, the University of Pennsylvania.

DeRosa managed the 2023 WBC team that lost to Japan in the finals, 3-2, his first foray into managing and this time around he seems even more ready for the job, putting together a terrific experienced coaching staff and using his personality and his passion to finally get the best USA players in the majors to sign up and play for Team USA.

Play for pride. Play for the USA.

That, in itself, is quite the achievement.

The managerial landscape has changed drastically in the last few years and this year new managers came from all kinds of different experiences. There have been brand new hires — and retreads hired.

The Padres hired former MLB relief pitcher Craig Stammen. He has never managed before, but Stammen pitched for 13 seasons in the majors, so in that respect he has a similar background to DeRosa. DeRosa played outfield, infield and was a catcher.

Being there is what it is all about.

In all there were nine new managers hired, including Tony Vitello from the college ranks, out of Tennessee by the Giants. Six of the nine new hires are first-time MLB managers. It is a whole new world in MLB, so I would expect at some point a team takes a chance on Mark DeRosa. Managers make a difference. Managers must get the players to buy in to all the little things that have been overlooked in the game.

Right now, in my mind, Dave Roberts is the best MLB manager in the game, not only because the Dodgers are going for three straight World Series titles, but because he has managed to surf two worlds, Nerds and Classic Baseball.

Like DeRosa, Roberts played for multiple teams, five. DeRosa started in the majors in 1998, Roberts started in 1999, so they are from the same era. Roberts is two years older than DeRosa. Roberts has Shohei Ohtani, DeRosa is going to have to find a way to beat Shohei Ohtani in the WBC.

The WBC has shown that DeRosa has won over his superstars. All the USA players have had glowing comments about DeRosa and his leadership. No matter how the WBC ends, DeRosa has built relationships with many key players and it will be fascinating to see if any of those teams fall flat in 2026, and will those players, those superstars go to bat with management for DeRosa. That will be something to watch.

One thing is certain, after every season a number of managers get fired. The day you are hired, you know the day will come when you will eventually be fired. Owners get impatient.

I’m looking forward to the rest of the WBC to see if Team USA can win it all. And when the WBC gets to the Championship Round at loanDepot Park in Miami, that is when the real action will take place. DeRosa will learn more lessons as time goes on, but he has shown he can get millionaires to pull on the same rope and that is an accomplishment. The managerial bracket in the WBC is strong. I’m also interested in seeing how Albert Pujols does with the Dominican Republic, Yadier Molina does with Puerto Rico and Omar Lopez, the bench coach for the Astros, does with Venezeula.

Mark DeRosa and Team USA are up against great competition, including the defending WBC champions Japan. Enjoy this March WBC ride – and hopefully Mark DeRosa soon gets to manage in Major League Baseball.

And next time I see him, I’ll be sure to ask about the 2-0 loss to that Belleville knuckleballer back in 1992.