Mark DeRosa claims he did not mean to say Team USA had already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic. However, the United States was hungover for its game against Italy because of how the players celebrated its win over Mexico.
Their postgame celebration seems to reflect a lack of knowledge about the standings.
Regardless of why or how it happened, the American baseball team is now at risk of missing out on the playoff bracket. Its sluggish play against the Italians looks even worse knowing they were up past midnight.
Mark DeRosa claims he misspoke.
DeRosa is in his second World Baseball Classic cycle as the manager of Team USA. The 51-year-old MLB veteran played 16 years with eight different organizations and started at every position on the field except center field, pitcher and catcher. He currently serves as a studio analyst with MLB Network.
That leads us to Tuesday afternoon.
DeRosa joined his colleagues on an episode of Hot Stove to discuss the World Baseball Classic. The skipper alluded to the idea that the United States had already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals with its wins over Brazil, Great Britain and Mexico.
OH MY GOD MARK DEROSA ACTUALLY THOUGHT TEAM USA ALREADY CLINCHED A SPOT IN THE QUARTERFINALS LMAOOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/7iGvS9xsAv
— AT (@YankeeWRLD) March 11, 2026
His assessment was incorrect. Team USA needed to beat Italy during its final game of pool play on Tuesday to guarantee its spot in the elimination bracket.
It did not.
The United States went down 8-0 through five and a half innings. A late rally was not enough.
Italy won 8-6.
DeRosa said after the loss that he actually did know of the various scenarios prior to first pitch, despite what he said on MLB Network. He misspoke.
Mark DeRosa’s response to him saying on MLB Network that Team USA had already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals: https://t.co/Krxvcks7OR pic.twitter.com/TqLknhDLdy
— Isaac (@Philly_Isaac) March 11, 2026
A Freudian slip would be a lot more believable if DeRosa did not sit three of his best hitters and give three innings of work to the worst reliever on the roster after going down 3-0. The same can be said for when Mason Miller suddenly appeared during the ninth inning after Clayton Kershaw was warming up in the bullpen. Did he only learn of the stakes in that moment? Seems suspicious.
Team USA is at risk of being eliminated from the World Baseball Classic.
Regardless of whether Mark DeRosa actually knew his team had not yet advanced or not, the United States lost to Italy and is now at serious risk of missing the quarterfinals. If Mexico defeats Italy on Wednesday night, three teams will be tied atop Pool B with a record of 3-1.
It will then come down to five very strange and specific tiebreakers:
- Head-to-head record (doesn’t matter if they’re all 3-1)
- Fewest runs allowed divided by the number of defensive outs recorded in games between the tied teams
- Fewest earned runs allowed divided by the number of defensive outs recorded in games between the tied teams
- Batting average in games between the tied teams
- WBC officials essentially draw rocks
The second tiebreaker puts the United States in a sticky spot with runs allowed. It can only advance to the quarterfinals if Italy wins or allows more than five runs in a loss, or if Mexico beats Italy by a score of 11-10 or greater in nine innings. Extra innings would throw everything into disarray.
More simply put:
- Italy and USA advance if Italy wins
- Mexico and USA advance if Mexico wins and scores 5+ runs
- Mexico and Italy advance if Mexico wins and scores 4 or fewer runs
We’ll see…
The United States was hungover.
All of the conversation surrounding DeRosa’s comments are focused on his interview with MLB Network. Understandably so. What was he thinking? Did he really not know?!
Unfortunately, there might be a bigger concern.
Mark DeRosa admitted to a hangover after the win over Mexico before the loss to Italy. The coaching staff and the players did not leave the ballpark until 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning after its win on Monday night. Players did not get back to their hotel rooms until around 2:00 a.m because they stayed up late telling stories and celebrating. Some of the guys were “dragging” on Tuesday afternoon.
“There’s some guys dragging today,” Team USA manager Mark DeRosa said after his coaching staff and players stayed up telling stories and celebrating after the 5-3 victory over Mexico.
— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) March 11, 2026
The team bus didn’t leave Daikin Park until 12:30 a.m.
Italy leads 5-0.#WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/HzvEIAhcFR
This makes me think DeRosa and the United States celebrated the win over Mexico as if they clinched a spot in the quarterfinals. The manager gave some of his guys a day off against Italy because they were “dragging” and he thought they did not need them because his team already clinched.
I do not know that to be true, and I doubt DeRosa would admit it, but that is what I am thinking.
Either way, it is a bad look for Team USA to be hungover during a potentially catastrophic loss to Italy. Their fate is now in the hands of Mexico.