One-Time Dodger Suits Up For the Final Time With Rival Giants and it Gets Emotional

Baseball is a beautiful game. Fans were treated to an all-time great moment this week when Sergio Romo made his retirement official. The one-time Dodger and long-time Giant said he wasn’t planning on pitching this year. In the offseason, he hung up his spikes without fanfare. But that didn’t sit well with the Giants.

The team gave him a call and pitched an idea to the pitcher. Come out to Oracle Park and retire officially in front of the fans. Pitch one more time. It resulted in one of the more emotional moments in recent baseball memory.

He walked a batter on two pitches after the home plate umpire assessed two pitch clock infractions caused by his long, emotional warm up. He allowed two hits and a run and that was enough for the bay. He got what he wanted as did the fan base.

His friend and former teammate Hunter Pence emerged from the dugout to pull the hurler for the last time.

“I emptied the tank,” Romo told NBC Sports. “I gave it everything I had every time. If it went well, if it went poorly, I never hung my head because I knew I gave what I had that night and I wasn’t afraid. The support I’ve had throughout my career from my teammates, the coaches, the fan base, it was always uplifting for me and gave me fuel to be a little bit bigger than I thought I was, to do more than I thought I could.

Via NBCSports.com

Romo pitched 15 seasons at the big league level, including half a season with the Dodgers in 2017. He made 821 appearances and recorded 137 saves during his career, putting together a 3.21 lifetime ERA. He also was a key reliever for the Giants during their run of three World Series championships in five years.

Sergio Romo was one of the great characters of the game over the last decade and a half and he along with his slider will be missed by the game.

Congratulations to the 40-year-old! Go enjoy your time being a dad.