DeRosa signs with fans

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BATAVIA – When Mark DeRosa heard that 11-year-old Gunnar Highland of Batavia waited more than four hours to meet him Monday, he shook his head and laughed.

“I’m not that cool,” the Chicago Cub joked.

Regardless of DeRosa’s opinion, several hundred people thought otherwise and spent Monday afternoon waiting in a long line at Batavia’s Avenue Chevrolet to meet the Cubs’ utility player.

“It always makes you feel well,” DeRosa said of the crowd. “It’s a direct reflection of how well the team is playing.”

Sporting a personalized Cubs jersey, Highland was first in line to get DeRosa’s autograph. His mother, Gina, said they arrived at 1 p.m., four hours before the signing was set to start.

“It was awesome,” Highland said, as he and his cousin gazed down at their freshly signed baseballs.

After snapping photos of her son and nephews with the baseball star and posing for one of her own, Gina Highland said “[the wait] was well worth it. Go Cubbies.”

As fans peaked into the showroom window before the event, DeRosa said playing for the Cubs has been quite a change compared to his time with the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers.

“It’s a lot different,” DeRosa said, explaining that since he donned the No. 7 blue and red Cubs jersey in 2006, he’s been recognized more.

He joked that while he probably he could have walked the streets of Texas and Georgia in his underwear without being recognized, the attention from Chicago fans has been an “adjustment.”

“There’s more passionate fans,” he said.

The car dealership’s owner, John Clark, said Monday’s autograph signing was part of a one-year agreement with DeRosa, who was given a Chevrolet Tahoe in exchange for appearances.

“He’s a family man and a real genuine guy,” Clark said, adding that he hopes DeRosa will return to the McKee Street store before the World Series in October.