Alexander Rafael Romero Galbán (born September 9, 1983) is a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n professional baseball

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

with

T&A San Marino San Marino Baseball Club is a professional domestic baseball club based in San Marino. As of August 2021, they compete in Serie A1, the top tier of Italian baseball. Their current commercial name is T & A San Marino, because the team is primaril ...

of the

Italian Baseball League The Italian Baseball League (IBL, ), officially known as the Serie A (), is the top-level baseball league in Italy. Founded in 1948, it is governed by the Italian Baseball & Softball Federation (FIBS), which has its headquarters in Rome. Many o ...

Career

Romero was born on September 9, 1983. After spending five years in the Twins organization, he was claimed off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks on Jan. 19, 2007. Romero began the season on the Diamondbacks'

25-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

. Romero made his major league debut on April 2, 2008, against the

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

, when he came in the game as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

, making him the 217th Venezuelan-born player in Major League Baseball. He laid down a successful

sacrifice bunt In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, a ...

. On April 3, 2008, Romero recorded his first career RBI, when he hit a

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

as a pinch hitter. For the season, he batted .230 with a .250

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

. During the winter, Romero plays in his home country of

for the Aragua Tigers (

Tigres de Aragua The Tigres de Aragua () is a baseball team that plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League and represents the state of Aragua. Founded in 1965, the Tigres plays its home games at the Estadio José Pérez Colmenares in Maracay. The team ...

). In 2012, while playing for

Tigres de Quintana Roo The Tigres de Quintana Roo (English: Quintana Roo Tigers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The team is part of the Southern Division (). The team has won twelve championships to date: ...

, was tested positive for doping and suspended for 50 games to serve in 2013. He played for

Rimini Baseball The Rimini Baseball Club, nicknamed the Pirates (), was a team that played in Serie A1 Italian Baseball League. The team was based in the city of Rimini and played its home games at the Stadio dei Pirati since 1973. Rimini has won 13 national ch ...

of the

in 2013, then he accepted to return to Rimini also for the 2014 season. He signed a minor league deal with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

on February 22, 2016. Romero signed with the Rojos del Águila de Veracruz of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

for the start of the 2016 season. He was traded to the

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (English: Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican baseball team based in Tijuana, Mexico, that competes in the Mexican Baseball League. The team plays its home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The franchise w ...

on June 13, 2016, and later dealt to the

Olmecas de Tabasco The Olmecas de Tabasco (English: Tabasco Olmecs) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. Their home ballpark is the Estadio Centenario 27 de Febrero. The Olmecas won their only Mexican Lea ...

on November 17, 2016. He was released on June 27, 2017. On June 30, 2017, Romero signed with the

Piratas de Campeche The Piratas de Campeche (English: Campeche Pirates) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico. History In 1980, the Alacranes de Durango moved to Campeche, and played their home games at Ven ...

. He was released on July 7, 2017. Romero returned to the

Rimini Baseball Club The Rimini Baseball Club, nicknamed the Pirates (), was a team that played in Serie A1 Italian Baseball League. The team was based in the city of Rimini and played its home games at the Stadio dei Pirati since 1973. Rimini has won 13 national c ...

for the 2018 season. He moved to

for the 2019 season. Romero was suspended for 20 games for his assault on opposing catcher Gabriel Lino with his bat after being struck by a pitch in a Venezuelan Winter League game on January 9, 2020. After the game, he was quoted as saying “it’s about time us batters defended ourselves.”

References

External links

1983 births Living people Arizona Diamondbacks players Fort Myers Miracle players Gulf Coast Twins players Gwinnett Braves players Jacksonville Suns players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen Mexican League baseball outfielders Mississippi Braves players New Britain Rock Cats players New Orleans Zephyrs players Olmecas de Tabasco players Piratas de Campeche players Quad Cities River Bandits players Reno Aces players Rimini Baseball Club players Rochester Red Wings players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players Baseball players from Maracaibo Tigres de Aragua players Tigres de Quintana Roo players Toros de Tijuana players Tucson Sidewinders players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Italy Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in San Marino World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela 2013 World Baseball Classic players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Colombia Caimanes de Barranquilla players {{Venezuela-baseball-outfielder-stub

Career

See also

References

External links