Former Giants pitcher Sergio Romo will end his 15-year career on a quickie contract with the Giants Monday night, and it looks like he may see more action than just a ceremonial first pitch in the Giants-A’s exhibition game at Oracle Park.
Technically speaking, 40-year-old former Giants pitcher Sergio Romo was on the roster for all three championships the team won in the modern era (2010, 2012, and 2014). But it’s the 2012 championship that represented his zenith as a San Francisco Giant — he pitched the final strike in that Championship sweep of the Detroit Tigers (seen below), then showed up for the championship parade in an “I Just Look Illegal” t-shirt, which would spawn a Three Twins Ice Cream Sergio Romo's Mexican Chocolate release (with the tagline “It Only Tastes Illegal”).
And we should not call Sergio Romo a “former Giants pitcher,” because today, he is a San Francisco Giant on paper. We learned two weeks ago that Romo was signing a symbolic contract with the Giants for one last exhibition game. We now know that Romo signed a ten-day contract, and has been working out with the team in Spring Training, and that Giants-A's exhibition game where he will pitch is Monday at 6:45 p.m. at Oracle Park, as the Bay Area News Group reminds us.
Romo rides again pic.twitter.com/z0mIIQsnuC
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) March 18, 2023
And it sure looks like Romo is going to throw more than just a ceremonial first pitch — it appears he’s actually going to have a genuine relief pitching experience. Romo has trained and conditioned with the team for the full ten days of his contract. (Ross Stripling is listed as tonight’s starter, but it’s an exhibition game, so things are loosey-goosey.) The Bay Area News Group reports that Romo and team president Farhan Zaidi “‘cooked up this idea’ to have him pitch one more inning for the team.” so this sounds like a full inning. Maybe he’ll be the closer?
Back in Black & Orange 🖤🧡 @SergioRomo54 pic.twitter.com/u4SGac6QhJ
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) March 18, 2023
Romo penned a tasteful Dear San Francisco farewell letter in the Players’ Tribune. “Thank you, San Francisco. I love you. This place means so much to me, in so many different ways. And it represents a lot of things I’ve never taken for granted about my baseball journey,” he says. “It’s time for new journeys and new promises. It’s been an honor. I’ll see you tonight.”
Sergio Romo pitched nine seasons for the Giants, and then was off to the Dodgers, and in his latter journeyman years, the Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, and even briefly with tonight’s opponent the Oakland A’s. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t selected until the 28th round of the MLB Draft, with the 852nd overall pick.
The Giants-A's exhibition game is Monday, March 27 at 6:45 p.m. at Oracle Park. The television broadcast will be on NBC Sports Bay Area, with the radio broadcast on KNBR 680.
Related: Sergio Romo's Controversial Shirt Wins Everything [SFist]
Image: SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 31: Sergio Romo #54 of the San Francisco Giants waves to the crowd during the San Francisco Giants World Series victory parade on October 31, 2012 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Giants beat the Detroit Tigers to win the 2012 World Series. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)