Joshua Michael Romanski (born October 18, 1986) is an American minor league baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He is a former left-handed pitcher. Prior to beginning his professional career, Romanski attended the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Sc ...

Amateur career

Romanski was drafted by 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 (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

in the 15th round of the

2005 Major League Baseball draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best ...

. Though Romanski and the Padres negotiated towards the signing deadline, the two parties could not reach an agreement, and Romanski enrolled at the

. Playing for the

San Diego Toreros baseball The San Diego Toreros baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of the University of San Diego, located in San Diego, California, United States. The program has been a member of the NCAA Division I West Coast Conference since ...

team in the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

(WCC), Romanski established himself as a two-way threat, as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

and

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 c ...

. ''

Collegiate Baseball ''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'' (also known as ''Collegiate Baseball Magazine'' and ''Collegiate Baseball'') is an American publication based in Arizona that considers itself the "voice of amateur baseball" which has been published for over 40 y ...

'' named him a Freshman All-American and he won the WCC Freshman of the Year Award. As a sophomore, Romanski was named a second-team All-American and first-team All-WCC. That summer, he played in the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Ol ...

and 2007 World Port Tournament with Toreros teammate

Brian Matusz Brian Robert Matusz ( ; born February 11, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago Cubs. College Matusz attended the University of San Diego, wh ...

. In his junior year, Romanski hit .324 and was 9-1 with a 4.00 ERA. He was first-team All-WCC and threw a no-hitter against the

Harvard Crimson baseball The Harvard Crimson baseball team is the varsity College baseball, intercollegiate baseball team of Harvard University, located in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. The program has been a member of the Ivy League since the conference officially beg ...

team. ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form ...

'' and ''

Louisville Slugger Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

'' named him a third-team All-American.

Professional career

The

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

drafted Romanski in the fourth round (128th overall) of the

2008 Major League Baseball draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

. After playing in four games for the

Helena Brewers The Helena Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pioneer League located in Helena, Montana, from 1978 to 2018. The team played their home games at Kindrick Legion Field, which was built in 1939. They were affiliated with the Milwaukee ...

of the Rookie Advanced Pioneer League in 2008, Romanski missed the 2009 season with an arm injury that required elbow surgery. The Brewers released Romanski, and he signed with 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 o ...

as a minor league free agent in April 2010. Romanski pitched for the

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. ...

of the Class-A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

and

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough Coun ...

of the Class-A Advanced

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A follow ...

in 2010. Romanski began the 2011 season with Tampa, but was promoted to the

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 Double ...

of the Class-AA Eastern League, where he was used as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

. After being traded to the White Sox mid season he was released at the end. He converted to an outfielder and spent the 2014 and 2016 seasons in independent ball, in the American Association Central and North Divisions, respectively, playing for the

Gary SouthShore RailCats The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a professional baseball team based in Gary, Indiana, in the United States. The RailCats are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The Rai ...

in 2014 and the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Norther ...

in 2016. Romanski signed a minor-league contract with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

in the 2017 offseason, but was released prior to the beginning of the 2017 season. He re-signed with the

for the season, batting .324 with 11 home runs and 81 RBIs in 98 games as he helped the team win its second consecutive championship and was named league MVP. On March 22, 2018, Romanski signed with the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: "Puebla Parrots") are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla, Mexico. History The state of Puebla came upon baseball in the early 1920s when returning Poblanos that had come from militar ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He was released on May 1, 2018. Romanski later re-signed with the

on June 22, 2018. He was released by the Goldeyes on June 24, 2019. On July 19, 2019, Romanski signed with the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They pre ...

of the American Association. He was released on July 29, 2019.

Personal

The same day he was drafted by the Brewers, Romanski's mother was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

. His younger brother Jake is a catcher in the Boston Red Sox organization.

References

External links

USD Toreros Biography – Josh Romanski
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romanski, Josh 1986 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American people of Polish descent Atenienses de Manatí (baseball) players Baseball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Birmingham Barons players Charleston RiverDogs players Gary SouthShore RailCats players Helena Brewers players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente outfielders Mexican League baseball center fielders Mexican League baseball right fielders Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in baseball Sportspeople from Corona, California Baseball players from Riverside County, California Pericos de Puebla players San Diego Toreros baseball players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players St. Paul Saints players Staten Island Yankees players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players United States national baseball team players Winnipeg Goldeyes players Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Norco High School alumni