Mark DeRosa is a fascinating figure to be managing Team USA at the World Baseball Classic.<\/p>\n
The skipper, who has made headlines for numerous gaffes in his media dealings during the tournament, apparently has aspirations to one day run a big-league clubhouse. But so far, since retiring from a long career as a utility player, DeRosa has largely worked in media.<\/p>\n
In 2023, DeRosa got his first managerial experience with Team USA. He was brought back for this cycle and has earned plaudits for recruiting top MLB players.<\/p>\n
But in an appearance on\u00a0The Tony Kornheiser Show<\/a> heading into the WBC quarterfinals, ESPN\u2019s Buster Olney suggested DeRosa has dug himself a pretty big hole with his potential employers with the way he has handled controversy this spring with the American team.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a TV guy now, but of course, he played for years, he was known for being a great clubhouse guy, and he managed this team back in the last round as well. And there\u2019s always been a thought that at some point, Mark had aspirations to become a Major League manager,\u201d Olney said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s going to be interesting going forward, because this has not been a glorious event for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the controversies\u00a0were DeRosa\u2019s suggestion that Team USA\u2019s roster included the best 30 baseball players in the world; his inability to tamp down criticism of Tarik Skubal after he returned to the Detroit camp;\u00a0and the many odd comments about<\/a>\u00a0Team USA\u2019s qualification for the quarterfinals<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many things that he\u2019s said and done during this WBC that if he ever did interview for a Major League managerial job, he would be asked about them by teams,\u201d Olney said. \u201cAnd I know this, because I\u2019m getting text messages along the lines of, \u2018What is he doing?’\u201d<\/p>\n Pregame before Team USA\u2019s matchup with Italy earlier this week, DeRosa suggested the team was a little slow due to the previous night\u2019s celebrations. Later, he seemed to indicate that he believed the team had already qualified for the quarterfinals<\/a>.<\/p>\n When the media called him out, DeRosa said he \u201cmisspoke\u201d and then completely backtracked on his comments.<\/p>\n