Jason Anthony Romano (born June 24, 1979) is a former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

. He played parts of four seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for five different teams from 2002 until 2005.

Professional career

Rangers

In 1997, Romano was a supplemental first-round pick drafted directly out of Hillsborough High School by the Texas Rangers at the age of 17. After spending his first five professional season in the Rangers' minor league system, Romano made his major league debut in April 2002 against the

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

Rockies

In July 2002, Romano was part of a 4-player trade that sent him to the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

. He was initially sent to the minor league Colorado Springs Sky Sox, where he batted .310 to earn a September call-up. In 18 games down the stretch, Romano hit .324 while playing four different positions.

Dodgers

During the 2002-03 offseason, the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

acquired Romano to be their super

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

. Romano had just three hits in 36

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s while splitting the year between the Dodgers and their top farm team, the Las Vegas 51s.

2004: Devil Rays and Reds

At the end of

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 2004, Romano was again traded, this time to his hometown team, the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

. However, his stay with his hometown team was brief, as the Devil Rays placed him on waivers after just four games. He was claimed by the

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

, and he split the rest of the year between the Reds and the minor league

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

Remaining career

Romano began the 2005 season with the Bats, and was called up in late May. In two brief stints with the Reds, he batted .267. He became a free agent at the end of July, signing with the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

. However, after just one game for their

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an e ...

farm team, Romano suffered a season-ending injury. In 2006, he briefly returned to the Devil Rays' system, but was released after batting just .105 in 13 games with the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...

. Romano continued to play for various minor league teams before retiring from baseball in spring 2009.

After baseball

Currently, Romano is an agent for Excel Sports Management as well as serving as a baseball analyst for several Tampa radio stations. He is also involved in several business ventures. He and his wife, Ellen, currently reside in Tampa Bay, Florida.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romano, Jason Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Texas Rangers players Colorado Rockies players Los Angeles Dodgers players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Cincinnati Reds players Gulf Coast Rangers players Savannah Sand Gnats players Charlotte Rangers players Tulsa Drillers players Oklahoma RedHawks players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Las Vegas 51s players Louisville Bats players Albuquerque Isotopes players Durham Bulls players Somerset Patriots players Baseball players from Florida 1979 births Living people