Team USA Baseball manager Mark DeRosa said he ‘misspoke’ about clinching spot before shocking Italy upset
The United States lost to Italy, 8-6, Tuesday night in the World Baseball Classic action in a shocking result. This means that Team USA finishes pool play with a 3-1 record. Usually this is enough to move forward. With a 2-1 record for Mexico and a surprising 3-0 for Italy, there’s a chance the U.S. loses a three-way tiebreakerif Mexico beats Italy on Wednesday. Yes, there’s a chance that this American Baseball Dream Team, made up of Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh and Paul Skenes, has already played its final game at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Team USA had not officially clinched a spot in the WBC quarterfinals before Tuesday’s match, and the Americans will have to wait until Wednesday evening to learn their fate in the round of 16. However, you wouldn’t have known that from listening to their manager earlier on Tuesday.
U.S. manager Mark DeRosa joined MLB Network and noted that the United States has “already punched” its “ticket to the quarterfinals” after beating Mexico on Monday night. DeRosa also talked about giving some guys a day off and having veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt in the lineup against Italy.
DeRosa was asked about it after the game and said he “misspoke” during his television appearance.
“Yeah, I misspoke,” DeRosa told reporters after the game. “I was on Hot Stove with a few buddies today and completely misinterpreted the math. We knew Mexico was going to play Italy and we’d have all the numbers, if we lost tonight, with runs allowed, runs scored and outs – I just misspoke.”
The United States certainly made some questionable decisions before the Italy game, but it’s unlikely DeRosa would have been selected before consulting with assistant coaches and realizing what he said on the MLB Network broadcast was untrue. However, it was not a program that conveyed the urgency of an inevitable victory.
If the United States is eliminated via the three-way tiebreaker — which would come to fruition with a Mexico win over Italy on Wednesday — DeRosa will certainly face more questions moving forward as coach.
