NewsShort of AL ROY, Romero back at work
Jays southpaw stumbled late after strong early showing
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com
11/16/09 3:24 PM EST
TORONTO -- Heading into August, there was little argument over who was leading the race for the American League's Rookie of the Year honor. Blue Jays left-hander Ricky Romero was on a roll and had positioned himself as the clear favorite for the prestigious accolade.
Romero quickly learned a Major League lesson.
"The biggest thing I think is I've got to be consistent," Romero said after his final outing of the season.
As the season pushed deeper into the summer, Romero began to labor more on the mound, and the young starter faded from discussion about year-end awards. It was still an impressive first-year showing, but Romero's effort was not enough to reel in the league's top honor for a rookie.
On Monday, Andrew Bailey of the A's received the Baseball Writers' Association of America's AL Rookie of the Year Award. Also receiving votes were Texas' Elvis Andrus, Detroit's Rick Porcello, Tampa Bay's Jeff Niemann, Chicago's Gordon Beckham and Oakland's Brett Anderson.
Romero -- widely consider the front-runner for the award midway through the season -- did not receive a single vote.
Through all the struggles Romero experienced down the stretch, the young lefty managed to keep things in perspective. When Spring Training began, he was a long-shot to make the rotation -- counted out for the most part. Romero became the surprise of the spring, earning a job on the starting staff and eventually emerging as the No. 2 arm behind ace Roy Halladay.
It was a year Romero will always look back on with a smile.
"It's been a fun year," Romero said. "There were a lot of doubters out there. I kind of did what I had to do and my family and everyone else that was on my side, everyone believed in me. I just thank God that I'm here and what a blessing of a year."
2009 AL roy voting
| Player | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Bailey | 13 | 6 | 5 | 88 |
| Elvis Andrus | 8 | 6 | 7 | 65 |
| Rick Porcello | 7 | 8 | 5 | 64 |
| Jeff Niemann | x | 5 | 6 | 21 |
| Gordon Beckham | x | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| Brett Anderson | x | 1 | 1 | 4 |
Romero -- the first pitcher selected (sixth pick overall) in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft -- finished the year 13-9 with a 4.30 ERA. Among AL rookies, he ranked second in wins and fourth in ERA. Romero led his league's rookie class with 16 quality starts, ranking second in strikeouts (141) and third in innings pitched (178).
Romero stormed out of the gates during his inaugural tour with Toronto. The 25-year-old lefty -- with a strong fastball, a solid slider and a dancing changeup -- opened the year with a 2-0 record and a 1.71 ERA over his first three starts. Through 17 outings, Romero was 10-4 with a 3.53 ERA, including a stretch in which he went 7-1 from June 21-Aug. 2.
At the All-Star break, Romero's name was a common part of the midseason award projections by media outlets.
Over the final two months, though, things changed drastically.
Romero posted a 3-5 record with a 5.53 ERA over his final 12 trips up the mound and, as his innings increased, so did Romero's ERA. He fashioned a 4.26 ERA in July, followed by a 5.03 mark in August and a 5.44 average in September/October. Against the AL East, Romero ended the year 3-7 with a 5.67 ERA -- compared to being 10-2 with a 3.19 ERA against all other opponents.
This offseason, Romero will attack what went wrong.
"I've got enough DVDs on me," Romero said. "So, I can go back this offseason and kind of just see what I've got to work on mechanically and just come back a better pitcher -- learn from everything, learn from the good and the bad. There were a lot of ups and there were a lot of downs this year, but I think it was a positive year."
Even with a spot in the rotation waiting for him, Romero said he plans on working just as hard this winter as he did a year ago, when no one predicted that he would become a full-time part of the pitching staff in 2009. Beyond analyzing his mechanics, Romero intends to add a cut fastball to his repertoire -- something he talked about with Halladay.
Romero said that he had studied film of Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte and Red Sox southpaw Jon Lester, hoping to learn from their success. One area he can work on is his approach against left-handed batters, who hit at a .297 clip with a .531 slugging percentage against Romero.
"There's some small things that I've just got to clean up," Romero said. "Just looking at some left-handers that have been successful in this game -- Pettitte, Lester, with their cutters -- I'm trying to come back a better pitcher and kind of learn one of those pitches."
Given the current state of the Blue Jays, having an improved Romero would be invaluable to the ballclub. The organization is in a transition period and new general manager Alex Anthopoulos is attempting to strengthen the Jays' foundation. That will include constructing a young core and could mean the team will consider trading Halladay before he has a chance to test free agency next winter.
Romero might not have been the Rookie of the Year, but his showing did give hope for the Jays' future.
"It was a year of learning and experience," he said.
Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
