#6 Most Thankful: Sergio Romo
Sep 25, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Sergio Romo (54) points to the sky after getting the last out against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning at AT&T Park
It’s officially Thanksgiving time and we thought we’d kick off the holiday weekend by showing our gratitude for the Giants. The Giants have given us a lot to be thankful for over the past few seasons. Over the weekend we’ll share our favorite 10 Giants and possibly some honorable mentions. So for all the times we whine and complain about the state of our team, let’s take some time to be thankful this offseason.
See the full list here: Top 10 Giants Most Thankful For This Year
Sergio Romo
What’s not to love about Romo? Whether he’s photobombing Amy G, National reporters, and even his teammates, or he’s doing his thing on the mound after a save, he seems to always be having fun. Sure, he had some downtime and tiff with the beat writers this past season, but all in all, he’s a fun lovable guy. Here’s a photobomb clip. My favorite is Romo photobombing Matt Cain at about the 1:40 mark.
But even more than that, he’s turn himself into the closer. It’s a role not everyone was sure he was cutout for, especially after Brian Wilson spent 2012 injured, but Romo solidified himself in that role. This year he had a career high 38 saves. With the exception of Wilsons 48 save season in 2010, if he continues to average that, he’s on par with Wilson, with a little less of the attitude and drama that Wilson brings. 38 saves alone put him in the top 10 closers in baseball, with a crown that includes Craig Kimbrel, Mariano Rivera, Joe Nathan, and Jim Johnson among others. He and recorded those 38 saves with fewer innings pitched than anyone who had more saves.
Also, consider this. In the 2010 and 2012 NLCS and World Series (given that yes, he was a setup man in 2010 and not a closer), he recorded a 0.00 ERA both series in both years. I’ll take that kind of relief pitcher any day of the week.
Oh, and then there is the matter of his slider.
Of course, that last pitch was a beast of an 89-mph fastball that Miguel Cabrera just watched float on by. You know, he has nightmares about that still.