Austin Romine
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Austin Allen Romine (born November 22, 1988) is an American
professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...
catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...
who is a free agent. He has played in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB) for the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
, Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs,
Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...
,
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
and Cincinnati Reds. He made his MLB debut in 2011 for the Yankees. He is the son of Kevin Romine and the brother of
Andrew Romine Andrew James Romine (born December 24, 1985) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and Chicago Cubs. ...
.


Career


Early career

Romine attended
El Toro High School El Toro High School is a public high school in Lake Forest, California, United States. It is one of five high schools in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) and serves Lake Forest and its district of Portola Hills and a small p ...
in Lake Forest, California, where he played on the school's baseball team with fellow future major leaguer Nolan Arenado. He was drafted by the Yankees in the second round of the
2007 Major League Baseball draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the fir ...
. Going into the 2009 season, he was rated the Yankees' fourth-best prospect and their second-best prospect for 2010, according to Baseball America.New York Yankees Top 10 Prospects, 2010
Baseball America. Published December 16, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
In , Romine was named the Florida State League Player of the Year. In , he participated in the All-Star Futures Game. After competing for the major league backup catcher job in spring training, Romine was assigned to the Double-A
Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the ...
to begin the 2011 season. The Yankees promoted Romine to the Triple-A
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...
on September 1.


New York Yankees

After injuries to two catchers, first to Russell Martin and then Francisco Cervelli, the Yankees promoted Romine to the major leagues on September 10. In the seventh inning of the September 11 game against the Angels, Romine made his major league debut behind the plate. On September 12, he got his first Major League hit off of Mariners reliever Dan Cortes. Romine missed most of the 2012 season with two bulging discs in his back. When Cervelli suffered a broken hand on April 26, 2013, the Yankees promoted him to the major leagues. On August 4, Romine hit the first home run of his Major League career off of
San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
pitcher
Dale Thayer Dale Scott Thayer (born December 17, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Mets, and San Diego Padres. Playing career Draft Thayer was drafted out of ...
. He suffered a concussion on September 10, when he was hit in the
mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and pra ...
by a foul ball. He batted .207 for the season. Romine competed with Cervelli and
John Ryan Murphy John Ryan Murphy (born May 13, 1991) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, and Pittsburgh Pirates ...
to be the backup catcher for the Yankees in 2014 spring training, Cervelli won the job, and Romine was optioned to the minor leagues. Romine was called up several times during the 2014 season due to injuries to various players, but only appeared in seven games. Romine was designated for assignment on April 4, 2015, and was outrighted from the 40-man roster and assigned to Scranton/Wilkes Barre on April 8. Romine batted .260 with seven home runs for the RailRiders in 2015. The Yankees promoted Romine to the major leagues on September 1. During spring training in 2016, Romine won the backup catcher competition over top catching prospect Gary Sánchez. In 2016 as the Yankees' backup catcher, Romine played in 62 games hitting .242 with 4 home runs and 26 RBI. In 2017, Romine began the season as the backup to Gary Sanchez, but after an injury to Sanchez on April 8, Romine became the Yankees starting catcher until Sanchez returned at the start of May. On August 24, Romine got into an altercation with
Miguel Cabrera José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983), nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since his debut in 2003 he has been a two-t ...
at home plate. Cabrera shoved Romine, triggering a
bench-clearing brawl A bench-clearing brawl is a form of fighting that occurs in sports, most notably baseball and ice hockey, in which most or all players on both teams leave their dugouts, bullpens, or benches, and charge onto the playing area in order to fight on ...
, and both combatants were ejected. The next day, on August 25, Romine was suspended for two games, pending an appeal. On September 8, Romine dropped his appeal, and began serving his suspension, which was reduced to one game. He batted .218 for the season. He had the lowest batting average against left-handers among all MLB hitters (60 or more plate appearances), at .143. Romine became the primary catcher for the Yankees after Gary Sánchez was injured in June 2018, and again re-injured in July. He was expected to serve in this role until Sánchez's return. On July 24, Romine was announced as the Yankees' "Heart and Hustle" award winner. On October 8, Romine pitched in the top of the ninth inning in a 16–1 loss to the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
in Game 3 of the
2018 American League Division Series The 2018 American League Division Series were two best-of-five-game series to determine the participating teams of the 2018 American League Championship Series. The three divisional winners, seeded first through third, and a fourth team—the W ...
, becoming only the second position player to ever pitch in the postseason, the first since
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
infielder Cliff Pennington in the
2015 American League Championship Series The 2015 American League Championship Series (ALCS) was a best-of-seven playoff contested between the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals for the American League (AL) pennant and the right to play in the 2015 World Series. The series is the ...
against the Kansas City Royals. Romine allowed two runs in the inning by allowing a two-run home run to
Brock Holt Brock Wyatt Holt (born June 11, 1988), nicknamed "The Brock Star", is an American former professional baseball player. Well known for his role as a utility player, Holt played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Re ...
which made Holt become the first player to
hit for the cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League B ...
in an MLB postseason game. On April 21, Romine hit his first career walk-off hit, an RBI single in a 7-6 win over the Kansas City Royals. On July 25, Romine made his first career pitching appearance in the regular season, pitching in the bottom of the eighth inning in a 19-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox, who he pitched against in Game 3 of the 2018 ALDS. Romine gave up three runs on four hits, including a double and two homers.


Detroit Tigers

On December 13, 2019, Romine signed a one-year, $4.15 million contract with the Detroit Tigers. On July 24, 2020, Romine made his Tigers debut as an Opening Day starting catcher. Overall with the 2020 Detroit Tigers, Romine batted .238 with two home runs and 17 RBIs in 37 games.


Chicago Cubs

On January 23, 2021, Romine signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. On May 5, 2021, Romine was placed on the 60-day injured list with a left wrist sprain. On August 12, 2021 Romine was activated from the injured list by the Chicago Cubs and entered the game as a pinch hitter and took over catching duties in a blowout loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. In the top of this 9th inning, Romine's brother Andrew Romine, a utility infielder with the Cubs, moved from the shortstop position to pitcher, making it an all Romine battery. The Romine brothers have been on opposing major league teams, but had never appeared together with the Cubs or played in the same game at the major league level. Romine became a free agent on October 5, 2021.


Los Angeles Angels

On March 15, 2022, Romine signed a minor league contract with the
Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...
. He was released on June 1, 2022.


St. Louis Cardinals

On June 17, 2022, Romine signed a minor league contract with the
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
. He was called up by the Cardinals on Monday, July 4, 2022.


Cincinnati Reds

On August 2, 2022, Romine was designated for assignment and traded to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for cash considerations.


Personal life

Romine's father,
Kevin Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...
, played in the majors for the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
from to . His brother,
Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...
, is also a former major league player. Romine and his wife Alexzandria had their first child, a son, born in 2013.


See also

*
List of second-generation Major League Baseball players Dozens of father-and-son combinations have played or managed in Major League Baseball (MLB). The first was Jack Doscher, son of Herm Doscher, who made his debut in 1903. Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. became the first father-and-son duo ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Romine, Austin 1988 births Living people Baseball players from California Charleston RiverDogs players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Detroit Tigers players Gulf Coast Yankees players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball catchers New York Yankees players Phoenix Desert Dogs players Scottsdale Scorpions players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Sportspeople from Lake Forest, California Sportspeople from Orange County, California St. Louis Cardinals players Surprise Rafters players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players Waikiki Beach Boys players