When you think “he’s set to play all nine,” you might have to take a second thought this time around. The Detroit Tigers’ utility man Andrew Romine, barring any strange complications, will attempt to play all nine positions during the last game of the season Sunday according to MLB.com Tigers beat reporter Jason Beck.
Barring something strange, Ausmus said, Andrew Romine will play all nine positions Sunday at Minnesota.
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) September 27, 2017
Andrew Romine to Play All Nine Positions in Tigers’ Last Game of 2017
The Tigers are matched up against the Minnesota Twins, who have already clinched the American League’s second Wild Card spot as of Wednesday evening. Detroit has virtually nothing to lose at this point, given their 4-22 record in September and their 62-96 record overall.
Romine has played every position at least once this season except catcher; 25 games at second, 22 in center field, 21 at first, 21 at third, 16 in left, 10 in right, nine at short, and one at pitcher so far. He was also seen catching a bullpen session from right-hander Buck Farmer during Wednesday’s game.
If everything goes according to plan, this will be the fifth time in major league history that a player has accomplished this feat. The others include:
Bert Campaneris, Oakland Athletics; Sept. 8, 1965
Cesar Tovar, Twins; Sept. 22, 1968
Scott Sheldon, Texas Rangers; Sept. 6, 2000
Shane Halter, Tigers; Oct. 1, 2000
It’s safe to say all Tigers players are glad their abysmal 2017 is coming to a close.
“We’ve got to learn from this,” Miguel Cabrera said. “This season has given me nightmares. But I need to sit back and think about it and learn from it.”
Although that doesn’t excuse them from trading away ace Justin Verlander, Detroit has some rebuilding in their future. They just recently signed 17-year-old third baseman Pedro Martinez Jr., son of the Hall of Fame pitcher for $800,000. That’s a good start for an organization that needs to get younger.
