no hitter. Growing up in Carlstadt, New Jersey, a New York City suburb, Mark regularly watched the New York Yankees on television. His favorite player was Don Mattingly. His early playing experience came with Carlstadt's Little League team, which was sponsored by General Tire and coached by his father. He attended Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey, where he earned all-state honors in baseball and in football. Offered football scholarships to the College of William & Mary as well as Rutgers University, DeRosa opted instead to attend the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), preferring its academic reputation and the opportunity to play baseball as well. After redshirting as a freshman, he became the starting quarterback for the Quakers in 1994, leading them to an undefeated season and an Ivy League championship. He led them to another Ivy League championship in 1995. Passing for 3,895 yards and 25 touchdowns during his career, he became one of the top quarterbacks in school history. Meanwhile, DeRosa played shortstop on the baseball team. In 1995, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Bourne Braves. Originally expected to be a reserve, he became the team's starting third baseman when Troy Glaus departed to play for a national team. Batting over .300, he was selected to the league's All-Star team. At Penn, DeRosa was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the seventh round (212th overall) of the 1996 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft, DeRosa chose to forego participating in college sports as a senior to instead pursue a professional baseball career. However, he continued to take classes in management and marketing, graduating from Penn's Wharton School in 1997. MLB career Atlanta Braves (1998–2004) Brief callups (1998–2000) DeRosa made his professional debut in 1996 with the Eugene Emeralds of the Class A short season Northwest League. Progressing through Atlanta's minor league system, he joined the Braves for the first time as a September callup in 1998. He made his MLB debut on September 2, pinch-hitting for Greg Maddux and striking out against Randy Johnson in a 4–1 loss to the Houston Astros. On September 20, he had his first MLB hit, a pinch-hit single against Vladimir Núñez in a 10–0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. He appeared in five games for the Braves in 1998, serving as a shortstop, pinch hitter, and pinch