Twins Reliever Sergio Romo Unfiltered

Sergio Romo is exactly what the Twins bullpen needed. At age 36, he is no longer the splashy name fans were hoping for and, even at his dominant peak, he was never touching triple figures on the radar gun, but Romo has a three World Series rings, a playful, irreverent outlook, an unending stream positive of energy and he can still pitch.

Drafted in the 28th round by San Francisco back in 2005, the Brawley, CA native debuted with the Giants in 2008. Romo evolved into an essential piece of the bullpen that helped the Giants win three World Series in five years (2010, 2012, 2014). After leaving the Bay Area, the former All Star did stints with the Dodgers, Rays and Marlins before a trade brought him to Minnesota on July 27. All told, Romo has appeared in 690 games, posted a 2.91 ERA, 129 saves and struck out 673 batters against 142 walks in 609 2/3 innings.

I was really looking forward to chatting with the veteran reliever and he did not disappoint.

DZ: You’ve been here nearly a month now; a little bit short of that. What’s that been like so far, what are your impressions?

ROMO: Everything’s been good. I’ve been fine. I’ll tell you what, I’ve grown very fond of all the guys here. There’s the fun personalities in here. Great energy, and then plus it’s a really, really good ball club, you know? And we’ve been in just about every ballgame that I’ve been around, and thankful to be a part of this to be honest. It’s been a fun, fun ride.

DZ: Where were you when you found out about the trade?

ROMO: I actually was in the bullpen in Miami. There some of the fans in the ninth inning of that particular day they came over and they were just like, “Hey, you know, good luck”. And I didn’t know where exactly where I was going, but I was getting told by the fans. But then once the game ended, and I’ve walked into a club house, and I got told, and then I was told it was (the Twins).

DZ: So what was your reaction? Did you know much about the Twins at that point?

ROMO: Well, yeah, I mean I’m a fan of baseball. It’s hard to not notice the noise that was being made over here, and they, I mean they hit a lot of homeruns, and they’d been still hitting a lot of homeruns, and scoring a lot of runs, pitching, playing good defense. It’s really cool to watch from a fan standpoint. But then now being here, being a part of it, thankful, thankful because it’s a special group.

DZ: Cool. Obviously you’re back in the pennant race again, which you’ve been through multiple times. Are there similarities between this team and some of the other teams you’ve been on?

ROMO: Ah, yeah. First, sincerely, I really believe that this team has a lot of the cohesive chemistry. As did some of those teams that I was part of. There’s a lot of energy, a lot of positive energy, but it’s unselfish, and it’s not one guy trying to shine brighter than the others. So I think different types of teams that I’ve been on before, a different type of team than I’ve been on before, but definitely similar aspects. We’re very unified. It’s fun knowing that you’re going out there and you’re not alone.

DZ: (You were a part of) three World Series championship teams in San Francisco, what kind of, what stands out about those teams when you look back now?

ROMO: Oh well it was that cohesiveness, you know? We were all playing for the same cause, pulling on the same notes for the same reasons, at the same time. Unselfish, and I, legitimately just trying to do our job for the guy next to us, so the guy next to us doesn’t have to worry about it. The tenacity to, the willingness to fight and get down and gritty, and grinding, and the willingness to get dirty that — I think those teams were special in those regards. Never, never, never quit, never say die mentality. And I think this team also has that. So it’s, again, really good teams back then, but this team’s pretty good, too.

DZ: Just a couple of quick things. There was a lot of upheaval in the bullpen before you got here, have you been kind of like a veteran presence? You feel like a mentor to some of these younger guys?

ROMO: I guess I would just have to leave that to them to decide if I have had any kind of impact in those regards. I just know that I come in, and I’ve had conversations with a few guys, and I only have my experiences to speak off of. So all I’m trying to do is just share the knowledge, you know, share the feelings and the thought processes that I’ve gone through and everything that’s happened to me and all the moments that have come my way. So if I’ve been, you know, I hope I’ve been a positive influence in other times.

DZ: One quick thing. I was looking at your Twitter account, it looks like you’re a pretty big fantasy football fan.

ROMO: Yeah, I am. I do like fantasy football, and then come in here, and these guys are big on it too. They’ve been talking about it pretty much since I got here. And that was one of the first questions that some of the guys asked me, “You play fantasy football?” So I’m going to do it. I like it. I’m a fan of football in general. I’m just impressed with the athleticism that those guys have, and I’ve known a couple of them, getting to know couple of them personally throughout the years. What they go through to be ready every Sunday, it’s extremely impressive.

DZ: Does being a professional athlete yourself kind of gives you a better perspective? You know, like, some of the fans can turn into pretty big haters on that stuff.

ROMO: No, I, the one thing is it’s I’m a fan of the sport in general. So we have our moments as fans where I understand that as fans we have our moments where we’re like, somewhat disappointed, maybe, or have higher expectations, maybe unfair expectations at times. But at the end of the day, I’m fan of the game and I appreciate what they do. They’re entertainers also, so thank you for that.

DZ: All right. Great to talk to you, man.

ROMO: That’s what’s up, boss.

See more of David Zingler’s 2019 athlete interviews: August 17: Sylvia Fowles July 25: Max Kepler July 20: Kyle Gibson July 10: Alaina Coates June 25: Taylor Rogers June 19: Ryan Eades June 16: Jason Castro May 18: Seimone Augustus April 24: Ryne Harper April 21: CJ Cron February 2: Caleb Truax

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