Enrique Romo Navarro (born July 15, 1947) is a Mexican former professional baseball

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

who played for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

(1977–78) and

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 ...

(1979–82). Romo batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Santa Rosalía,

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...

, and is the younger brother of

Vicente Romo Vicente Romo Navarro (born April 12, 1943) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. A right-hander, Romo played all or parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball between 1968 and 1982, primarily as a relief pitcher. He had an exte ...

, who also pitched in the majors.

Career

In a six-season career, Romo posted a 44–33 record with a 3.45

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

, 52 saves, and 436

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in 350

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher. The statistic is also referred to as appearances, especially to refer to the number of ...

. Romo pitched 11 seasons in Mexican baseball prior to making his major league debut for the Seattle Mariners in 1977 at the age of 29. In his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

season, he led the Mariners with 16 saves. He was acquired along with Tom McMillan and Rick Jones by the

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

from the Mariners for

Mario Mendoza Mario Mendoza Aizpuru (born 26 December 1950) is a Mexican former professional baseball infielder who is currently the manager of Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican League. Mendoza, a lifetime .215 hitter, is best known for being the source ...

, Odell Jones and Rafael Vásquez at the

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

on December 5, 1978. His most productive season came with the

1979 World Series The 1979 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1979 season. The 76th edition of the World Series was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates (98–64) and the Am ...

Champions, with whom he had a 10–5 mark, a 2.99 ERA, career-highs in games (84) and

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

(129.3), exclusively as a set-up man for

closer Closer or Closers may refer to: Film and television * ''Closer'' (2000 film), a documentary by Tina Gharavi * ''Closer'' (2004 film), a 2004 adaptation of Patrick Marber's play (see below), directed by Mike Nichols * ''The Closer'', a 1990 mo ...

Kent Tekulve Kenton Charles Tekulve ( ; born March 5, 1947), nicknamed "Teke", is an American former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He also played f ...

. Romo also made two appearances in the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

, won by Pittsburgh over the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

in seven games. On October 1, 1980, he slugged a grand slam home run against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

. In 1983, Romo failed to report to

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 ...

, first indicating he would arrive late due to one of his children dealing with chicken pox, and then later not attending at all, announcing the intention to join an unsanctioned league in Mexico. Pittsburgh warned Romo that such a move would require them to fine him $500 for each day of camp that he missed; ultimately, Romo remained in Mexico.

Legacy

Along with his brother Vicente, Romo is a member of the

Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame The Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano (in English, Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame), commonly called the Salón de la Fama (Hall of Fame) is a baseball hall of fame and museum located in Monterrey, Nuevo León, inaugurated on 10 ...

, having been inducted in 2003. In 2010, the Romo brothers had their uniform numbers retired by

Yaquis de Obregón The Yaquis de Obregón () are a professional baseball team based in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico. They compete in the Mexican Pacific League (LMP). The team plays at the Estadio Yaquis with a capacity of 16,500 seated spectators. The team h ...

of the

Mexican Winter League Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

. In 2015, Romo was announced as being part of the 2016 induction class of the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romo, Enrique 1947 births Living people Algodoneros de Unión Laguna players Baseball players from Baja California Sur Charros de Jalisco players Diablos Rojos del México players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Mexico 20th-century Mexican sportsmen Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball pitchers Ostioneros de Guaymas players Pittsburgh Pirates players Porteños de Puerto México players Seattle Mariners players Yaquis de Obregón players People from Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur

Career

Legacy

See also

References

External links