Article: Eddie Romero Defined Versatility

[reillymcshane]

There are many baseball gods, but one of the more obscure is Versatilus, the patron god of utility players. Few players have worshiped at the alter of Versatilus more than former Brewer Eddie Romero , who parlayed his modest skills into a long career as a a player - and then as a coach and instructor.

 

Edgardo Ralph Romero was born in Puerto Rico on Dec. 9, 1957. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Brewers in 1975 at the age of 17. The slightly built infielder was installed at shortstop and began a steady climb through the minor league system. At the plate, he never scared anybody (no power and an average hit tool), but he took his walks and showed good contact, rarely striking out. 

In 1977, the Brewers would give the 19-year-old Romero a brief 10-game trial, but he was sent back to minors in short order, and did not return to Milwaukee until 1980. But once he established himself with the Brewers in 1980, he spent the next 11 years in the majors (seven in Milwaukee), and was a key reserve for the great Brewers clubs of the era.

Romero's calling card was his versatility (unless you count his impressive mustache). He played, at some point, every postion on the field except pitcher and catcher. He hit a modest .254 for the Crew and never had more than 1 HR in a season, but as noted, he limited his strikeouts and took his walks, and was ready to play wherever the club needed him. On average, he had about 200-250 at-bats in a season, the most coming in 1984 when Paul Molitor was injured.

After the 1985 season, Romero was dealt to Boston for reliever Mark Clear. He spent nearly four seasons in Boston before returning to Milwaukee at the conclusion of the 1989 season. After a brief stint with Detroit in 1990, then a year in the minor leagues, he was done as a player.

Upon retiring, Romero immediately went into coaching. He has served as a manager for more than a dozen minor league seasons, including several for the Brewers. He was the Astros third base coach in 2008, and bench coach the following season under former teammate Cecil Cooper.

For his career, Romero had a .247 BA and produced an OPS of just .600. For Milwaukee, the numbers are .254 and .619, respectively. He wasn't a speed guy (only 9 career SBs versus being caught 10 times), and he was - at times - prone to errors (in the minors he had two seasons with more than 40 miscues). Historical stats don't see him as any sort of defensive whiz, but perhaps the constant moving around the field diminished his numbers. His poor hitting and average defense give him a WAR of -5.0 for his career.

Romero lamented the perception that he was 'only' a utility player and that he never got the chance to be a full-time player. But his bat never really justified a role other than that of a reserve. His biggest plus was probably that he was viewed as a competent, trustworthy and reliable player who could step up when the need arose. There's value in that. And Eddie parlayed it into a long career which is a pretty amazing accomplishment. 

Romero married his high school sweetheart in 1977, and they had two children. Their son, Ed Romero Jr., earned a law degree, and after a stint as a prosecutor, joined the Boston Red Sox organization in 2006. Today he is the team's Executive Vice President and Assistant General Manager. 

Share your memories of former Milwaukee Brewer utilityman Ed Romero.

 

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