Armando "Mandy" Romero (born October 29, 1967) is a former

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), ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

. Drafted by the

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 (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

in the 19th round of the MLB amateur draft, Romero would make his Major League Baseball debut with 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 ...

on July 15, , and appear in his final game during the . Romero is noted for his role as a

replacement player In professional sports, a replacement player is an athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a strike or lockout, serving as a strikebreaker. Instances of replacement players Nati ...

during

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 ...

prior to the 1995 Major League Baseball Strike. Replacement players took over for professional baseball players when the

Major League Baseball Players Association The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union representing all current Major League Baseball players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held a signed contract with a Major League club ...

went on strike. The strike was resolved at the end of spring training. Romero would return to Major League Baseball with the San Diego Padres in 1997, however, was blacklisted and not permitted to join the

. Pedro Martinez, Red Sox teammate of Romero, was quoted, "Mandy is a guy that likes to take life by the horns. He lives, he laughs, and most of all, he loves."

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Baseball players from Miami Major League Baseball replacement players 1967 births Living people San Diego Padres players Boston Red Sox players Colorado Rockies players Eastern Florida State College people Major League Baseball catchers Carolina Mudcats players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Pawtucket Red Sox players Norfolk Tides players Akron Aeros players Sacramento River Cats players Nashville Sounds players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players {{US-baseball-catcher-1960s-stub