You may have thought the writer of this script, who tends to surprise the audience, had pulled out a page at random.
KC: Hey, you are going to third base.
SR: Huh?
(a puzzled look on his face)
KC: Just go straight to third base. I will let you know after that.
SR: Alright.
(a more puzzled look on his face)
You may also have known the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, Kevin Cash or “KC” in this instance, hardly makes “random” moves.
“I am glad he was able to maintain his focus,” said Cash.
He is referring to the Rays right handed closer, “SR” or Sergio Romo.
Cash sent Romo to the mound in the top of the eighth inning with the New York Yankees trailing the Rays by two runs. Romo got out of the inning and, then, as his teammates traded hats for helmets, he played his role in the script.
“I just sat there,” recalled Romo. “First out and I was like, ‘Wait a minute, am I really going to third?’ Second out, ‘Dang! I am going to third.’ Third out, I look at [Cash] and he goes, ‘Go to third!’”
Romo took his position at third base for the first time in his 11 year Major League Baseball career in the top of the ninth inning. He admits he had one thought running through his mind.
“Just don’t hit me the ball.”
He quickly formed a game plan.
“I was thinking, ‘Who is batting? Alright, Bird is up. K. He is not necessarily known for his wheels so chest out, just knock it down, you’ve got a shot!’” said Romo.
Luckily, Yankees first baseman and left handed hitter Greg Bird grounded out to second base not third base.
Romo then moved from third base to the pitcher’s mound.
“I was still kind of giddy,” said Romo. “And I was feeling like the little kid in me was super excited but I threw the first pitch ball. I was like, ‘Let’s go! Lock it.'”
You can’t argue with the facts.
“KC” had written a brilliant script.
He wanted to pair a lefty hitter with a lefty pitcher, Jonny Venters, but he didn’t want to take Romo out of the game. He chose to place him at third base, an unlikely spot for the ball to bounce with Bird swinging the bat.
“He did a really nice job,” said Cash.
Romo faced four more batters in the game and he got the save for the Rays. It is his twelfth save of the season.
He describes the position change as “very innovative” but he supports it.
“Outside the box is kind of my style,” he told us. “So here we are!”
The “new” third baseman pitched his name into the record books on Wednesday night.
According to ESPN, he is the first player to play third base and receive credit for a save in the same game since the save became an official MLB statistic in 1969.
“I am thankful for the opportunity because these are cool stories I get to tell my kids later on,” said Romo.
He also told News Channel 8 he is excited to share the details of the day with his dad.
“Silly fact about me,” he said, “I went to college, junior college, as a third baseman who could pitch. My dad still plays third base.”
Every Saturday, Romo’s father, brother and cousins play softball together in Mexico.
“I think to be able to say, ‘Hey dad, I played third base in the big leagues,’ that is kind funny!”
It’s certainly a funny ending to a funny script in the lives of Sergio Romo, Kevin Cash and the rest of the 2018 Tampa Bay Rays.
“I am very proud of my team. We are not the most spoken about and we do not have all of the names but we are pretty darn good. We are competitive,” said Romo.
“And I think we have been doing a good job of showing that lately so here we go!”
