Consistency? Conviction? Look no further than Marlins veteran reliever Sergio Romo
The sun had set on Wrigley Field on Monday night as the Miami Marlins clung to a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth over the hometown Chicago Cubs after rallying back from being down three.
As the wind swirled and the temperature stayed steady in the low 40’s, the Marlins pulled out their not-so-secret weapon, their ace in the bullpen primed for those rare save situations that have been few and far between through the Marlins’ first 34 games.
There’s almost no hesitation, no doubt.
Sergio Romo is going to close out the ball game.
There were some bumps in the road, but for the sixth time in as many opportunities, Romo shut the door on the opposition to give the Marlins a 6-5 win over the Cubs to start the four-game series.
“He’s not going to panic,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.
And for this Marlins team, one focused on a rebuild and preparing its young roster for the future, it’s hard to discount Romo’s value to the team.
There’s what he has done on the field, yes. Romo is perfect in save opportunities, has given up just four runs over his last 12 outings while holding opponents to a .190 batting average in that stretch.
But his contribution to this young team stems much further than that.
The carefree, charismatic 12-year MLB veteran reliever serves as a quintessential example and mentor for a young Marlins pitching staff, a player who can pull from his vast experience in the league to help his teammates brimming with raw talent learn to hone in their skills.
He’s been where the Marlins are right now, a team in full rebuild mode leaning on a group of youngsters learning what it’s like to play in the big leagues. Romo, 36, made his debut with the 2008 San Francisco Giants, a team that went 72-90.
He’s been where the Marlins want to be, winning World Series titles in 2020, 2012 and 2014.
“It’s not only that he’s been through it,” Mattingly said, “but just the way he’s been through it.”
And above all, he has the demeanor the Marlins are trying to instill in their young roster.
Confidence. Conviction. A unwavering sense of self-assurance that he belong here even though he might not stack up on paper.
You don’t need to remind him that his sliders, his most used pitch, barely averages 77 mph.
Or that his change-up is only averaging 79 mph.
Or that his sinker (used against lefties) and four-seam fastball (used against righties) only come in at around 86 mph.
He simply doesn’t care.
It’s worked for him over the last dozen years, and he’s still effective enough on the mound to come into games in big situations. Why change who he is now?
And he still cherishes those moments to prove himself, no matter how small they seem in the grand scheme of a career that has spanned 656 games, all while staying laid back in the process.
“It’s good for our guys,” Mattingly said. “You have to have some form of relaxation. You can’t always be on edge.”
Look back to Monday night for the most recent example.
He trots to the mound in the bottom of the ninth with the Marlins up 6-4 and quickly strikes out Daniel Descalo on a 77.2 mph that lands on the outer corner of the strike zone to set the tone.
He ran into trouble shortly afterward, giving up a solo home run to Kris Bryant to cut the lead to one and then a single to Anthony Rizzo to put the winning run at the plate.
Romo’s intensity amps up.
Eight pitches later, he gets both Javier Baez and Willson Contreras to strike out swinging on sliders outsife of the zone.
Game over.
Sergio Romo strikes again.
“He just doesn’t give in,” Mattingly said. ”He’s been in a lot of big moments. He’s been really good for us.”
This story was originally published May 7, 2019 at 8:36 PM.
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