Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Welcome to the Blue, Jamie Romak!


As you may know, the Dodger have an open spot on the Major League roster due to Carl Crawford's unfortunate ankle injury, so fanatic fans have been wondering who would be brought up in his place.  Some folks hoped that a star prospect would get a cup of coffee with the Dodgers.  Instead, a ballplayer who has fought and persevered through the trenches of Minor League Baseball finally has an opportunity to call himself a Major Leaguer.

Jamie Romak, a 12 year professional, will be in Dodger Blue this evening. He can play the infield corner positions and the outfield, and has put up some decent numbers in Albuquerque this season.  Jamie bats right-handed and has been primarily a 3rd baseman for the Isotopes.  Romak is batting .272 and OPS'ing an impressive .932.  In 206 plate appearances he has slugged 13 home runs for the Isotopes.  So, he has some power.

Romak did not come up through the Dodger farm system.  He was originally drafted by the Braves in the 4th round of the 2003 draft out of London, Ontario.  He has played for the Canadian National Baseball team; having won a Bronze Medal during the 2011 Pan American Games.  Jamie Romak came to the Dodgers in November of 2013 as a free agent.

UPDATE:  Isotopes beat writer Chris Jackson shared this about him on twitter:


I love that the Dodgers are giving Romak a chance to roam a Major League field. I suspect he'll get a chance to start at 3rd base since neither Turner or Figgins are best suited as everyday players.  I don't know if we should expect him to stick around for very long, but sometimes magic strikes.

Via a story by Alexis Brudnicki at the Canadian Baseball Network:
“If you are ever just happy to be in affiliated ball, you won’t be there long,” Romak said. “I’m extremely grateful but Triple-A isn’t my big leagues. There’s no time line on my career. That’s up to God. Baseball is my career and if the big leagues doesn’t happen for me, I will pursue other avenues like playing in Asia to continue to make a living [from it].”
Well, Jamie, you just got the call!  Over the next few days I'll raise up a pint in his honor and wish him the best.  Welcome to the Dodgers, Jamie Romak!

In celebration of Romak officially becoming a Dodger today, I made the above fantasy card for him.  I used a photo grabbed from I-70 Baseball blog from several years back and the 1987 Topps Baseball card design.  If you can't tell, I did a little bit of photoshopping to add the LA Dodger logo on his helmet.

BTW, Jamie has received some encouraging words, via twitter:








Below are Romak's minor league career stats, via Baseball Reference:


UPDATE:  Via a Dodgers press release:
The Los Angeles Dodgers today placed outfielder Carl Crawford on the 15-day disabled list (left ankle sprain) and selected the contract of corner infielder/outfielder Jamie Romak (#35) from Triple-A Albuquerque.

The 28-year-old Romak, who will be making his Major League debut, leads the Pacific Coast League with 10 home runs this month and was batting .303 (27-for-89) with six doubles, a triple and 18 RBI in 25 May games. Overall, Romak hit .272 with 13 homers and 30 RBI in 48 games with the Isotopes and showed his versatility by appearing in 27 games at third base, 10 at first base and eight in the outfield. The London, Ontario, Canada native was originally selected by the Braves in the fourth round of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft and was signed by the Dodgers as a free agent on Nov. 19, 2013.

Crawford was batting .267 with four home runs and 18 RBI in 44 games this season.

The Dodgers now have 40 players on their 40-man roster.

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By at Wednesday, May 28, 2014
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