Armando "Mandy" Romero (born October 29, 1967) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

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 catc ...

. Drafted by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in the 19th round of the MLB amateur draft, Romero would make his Major League Baseball debut with the

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

on July 15, , and appear in his final game during the . Romero is noted for his role as a

replacement player In professional sports, a replacement player is an sportsperson, athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a Strike action, strike or Lockout (industry), lockout, serving as a strikebre ...

during

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

prior to the 1995 Major League Baseball Strike. Replacement players took over for professional baseball players when the

Major League Baseball Players Association The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) is the labor union representing all current Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held ...

went on strike. The strike was resolved at the end of spring training. Romero would return to Major League Baseball with the San Diego Padres in 1997, however, was

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

and not permitted to join the

. Pedro Martinez, Red Sox teammate of Romero, was quoted, "Mandy is a guy that likes to take life by the horns. He lives, he laughs, and most of all, he loves."

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Baseball players from Miami Major League Baseball replacement players 1967 births Living people San Diego Padres players Boston Red Sox players Colorado Rockies players EFSC Titans baseball players Major League Baseball catchers Carolina Mudcats players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Pawtucket Red Sox players Norfolk Tides players Akron Aeros players Sacramento River Cats players Nashville Sounds players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Miami Senior High School alumni {{US-baseball-catcher-1960s-stub