Ricky Romero | |||
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Romero with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2011
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San Francisco Giants | |||
Starting pitcher | |||
Born: East Los Angeles, California |
November 6, 1984 |||
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MLB debut | |||
April 9, 2009, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |||
MLB statistics (through 2013 season) |
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Win–loss record | 51–45 | ||
Earned run average | 4.16 | ||
Strikeouts | 622 | ||
WHIP | 1.40 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
Ricardo "Ricky" Romero, Jr. (born November 6, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently in the San Francisco Giants organization. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays.
After spending three years at Garfield High School, Romero graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in East Los Angeles. In his senior year he was named L.A. City Section co-player of the year and Eastern League co-MVP for baseball, going (12–1) with a 0.53 ERA and 162 strikeouts for the Rough Riders.
Upon graduation, Romero attended Cal State Fullerton from 2001 to 2005. The lefty starter helped the Titans capture a National Title in the 2004 College World Series, pitching the team into the semifinals past Miami (FL) and winning game one of the World Series against Texas. He was also selected to the All-Tournament team for that season and played for the U.S. National Team pitching to a (3–1) record with a 1.57 ERA. In 2005, he led Fullerton in wins (13) and the Titans returned to the World Series.
Romero was drafted by the Blue Jays as the sixth overall pick (and first pitcher selected) in the 2005 amateur entry draft. After signing with Toronto in June of that year, with a signing bonus of $2.1 million, Romero made his professional debut for the Auburn Doubledays of the short-season A affiliated New York–Penn League. He was promoted to the Class A Dunedin Blue Jays after that appearance. Both 2006 and 2007 were short, injury-riddled seasons for the southpaw, with Romero suffering from shoulder and elbow problems. Finally healthy in 2008, Romero struggled with control problems with a career high 55 walks for the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. He received a late year call up to Triple-A Syracuse and earned Player of the Week honors as a member of the Chiefs on September 1.