Major League Baseball

San Francisco Giants: Sergio Romo's Top Five Moments

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:01 p.m. ET

Fansided, Daniel Sperry/FanSided via Around the Foghorn

Oct 28, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Sergio Romo (54) and catcher Buster Posey (left) celebrate after Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera (24) strikes out to end game four of the 2012 World Series at Comerica Park. The Giants won 4-3 to sweep the series. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Former San Francisco Giants reliever, Sergio Romo has gone and signed a one year deal with the Dodgers. We look back on our five favorite Romo moments in orange and black.

The inevitable, and yet unthinkable has happened. One of the most beloved San Francisco Giants in recent memory has signed elsewhere. That was the inevitable, as the Giants had pretty much made it clear they’ll bring nobody back. However it was unthinkable that Romo would end up with the Dodgers.

Even then, we still must remember him in a positive way. Romo was one of the nine players with three world series rings, and had many memorable moments in orange and black. He should be given a resounding ovation and applause in his first appearance back at AT&T. And from there on out it’s fair game to boo him. He deserves respect, but so does the rivalry.

Romo memories cove anything ranging from clutch strikeouts, to fiery moments with opponents, and always his “tele-novela” commercials. Romo was a character, a clubhouse and fan favorite, and ultimately a fierce competitor. He had faced plenty of opposition in his life, and overcame it all to become one of the most decorated pitchers in franchise history. Here’s to you Mr. Romo!

Go ahead and flip through as we remember our five favorite Sergio Romo moments.

October 31, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Sergio Romo (54) rides in a car during the World Series victory parade at Market Street. The Giants defeated the Detroit Tigers in a four-game sweep to win the 2012 World Series. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

Romo Moment Number 5: Romo Gets’ Puig for Final Out with Bases Loaded

Sergio Romo was always a fiery competitor. This inning came close to the end of the 2015 season. The Giants were down south in L.A for a weekend series. It came down to Sunday, where the Giants needed a win to keep the Dodgers from celebrating a division title in front of them.

The stage was set: Two outs, bases loaded, and Yasiel Puig at the plate. Puig has been the bane of the existence of Giants fans since he burst on the scene in 2013. Puig, known for his theatrics and demonstrative actions in the box, was up with a chance to put on the celebration of all celebrations. Who knows what celebration he would’ve pulled out of his rear end if he got the walk-off, division winning hit, against Romo and the Giants of all opponents.

Next: Moment Number 4

Oct 24, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Sergio Romo (54) high fives teammate Brian Wilson prior to game one of the 2012 World Series against the Detroit Tigers at AT

Romo Moment(s) Number 4: ALL the “Romo Bombs”

One thing about Romo was his love to goof around in the dugout. A prankster, and overall character within the clubhouse, Romo loved to have fun. The balance in character: the fiery passion on the mound, coupled with the off the cuff, goofiness in the dugout.

Romo gained a whole lot of noteriety in the 2012 postseason for his “romo-bombs” basically photo bombing anybody doing a T.V. spot, or being interviewed in the Giants dugout. If you were there, you were fair game. Romo got good ol’ Amy Gutierrez plenty of times, but definitely got reporters like Erin Andrews, Tom Verducci, Ken Rosenthal, and many more during the 2012 postseason run. He even got his own teammates in Pablo and a few others.

Next: Moment Number 3

July 6, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28, left) and relief pitcher Sergio Romo (54, right) celebrate after the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT

Romo Moment Number 3: ALL the Promotional Ads

While our last favorite Romo moment, or moments, included his antics on the field, his antics in many of the San Francisco Giants promotional advertisements are going to be greatly missed. Romo was a fantastic advertiser, and did a great job of making people talk about the upcoming promotions. Here are a couple of my favorite Romo Ads.

The first one has to be the original Mi Amor ad. Romo let his latino heritage stand out. The flamboyant, loud, joyful, and entertaining man teamed up with Buster Posey for the original Mi Amor ad, setting it up for a telenovela style advertisement. Buster Posey faked tears, and Romo and Posey could barely keep a straight face the whole time. Take a look, as our words don’t do the ad enough justice:

Another one of our favorites is easily the second Mi Amor Ad. This time, they played off the original, and brought in fellow latino teammate, Javy Lopez. This time, Buster, Javy, and Sergio discussed the promotions all over again, only with a little more telenovela drama. The promotions! So many will be sad as there will be no “Mi Amor Tres.” Anyways, take a look at “Mi Amor Dos,” likely the last Sergio Romo promotional.

Next: Moment Number 2

Oct 22, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Sergio Romo (front, right) and catcher Buster Posey (front, left) celebrate with their team after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 9-0 in game seven of the 2012 NLCS to advance to the world series at AT

Romo Moment Number 2: The 12 Pitch At-Bat vs Jay Bruce

Romo has two iconic at-bats in his time with the Giants. This is the first of them. The Cincinnati Reds stormed out to a 2-0 lead, destroying the Giants in the only two games in San Francisco during the 2012 NLDS. The Giants barely survived game three, winning 1-0 on an infield hit in the tenth inning. Then, the Giants burst out of the coffin in game four, destroying the Reds. Up came the rubber match, the all deciding NLDS Game 5.

There are many moments that came from this game, and this series. The Pence speech, the Posey grand slam, the Angel Pagan catch. The next inning, Romo got into a deep hole. With one out, and two on, Jay Bruce came up to the plate. It took twelve pitches, with Bruce fouling off eight pitches, and turning an 0-2 hole into a 3-2 count. On pitch number twelve, Romo finally got Bruce to pop out to left field.

The battle was indicative of Romo’s fight, and incredibly mental fortitude on the mound. While being the fun and goofy guy in the clubhouse, and on T.V, Romo pitched with passion, and ultimately a chip on his shoulder. Romo’s battle here cemented what should be his legacy as a Giants. Someone who beat a lot of odds and scouting reports, and fought as hard as he could for the team he played for.

Next: Moment Number 1: THAT Strikeout

Oct 28, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Sergio Romo (right) and catcher Buster Posey (left) celebrate after game four of the 2012 World Series against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. The Giants won 4-3 to sweep the series. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

It honestly shouldn’t be a surprise that this is the number one Sergio Romo moment. It’s the only moment we have where a strikeout of his clinched a World Series win.

There were so many factors behind this pitch, this strikeout. The Giants were written off by virtually every national media outlet. The Tigers were the darlings of the media in 2012. Prince Fielder, The Triple Crown Winner in Miguel Cabrera. Then you had Justin Verlander and that pitching staff. The Giants absolutely destroyed the Tigers in that series.

Their pitchers were better, the bats were better, the small game they played to perfection, and then their defense was incredible. The Giants blew them out of the water. But all of that, was wrapped up into one at-bat

In Game 4, with the Giants on the verge of a sweep, the Tigers felt like a win would get them back into. They had fought so hard to stay in the game. They effectively did, getting it into extra innings thanks to a Miggy blast. After Marco Scutaro singled home Ryan Theriot in the top of the tenth inning, the Giants had a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth.

With two outs, up came the triple crown winner, stepping into the box against a 5’10”, scrappy little pitcher, who had a fastball that could barely top out at 90. Romo threw him five straight sliders, and Miggy was finally starting to catch on. In a 2-2 count, Romo decided to throw an 89 mph fastball right down the pipe. Cabrera was stunned and was still standing in the box, waiting for a slider that wasn’t coming after Posey and Romo had already embraced in their signature “Buster-Hug”.

That at bat summed up not only the Giants of 2012, but the life and career of Sergio. A late round draft pick making it to the pros isn’t entirely un-heard of. Winning three rings and being a significant part of a dynasty is unheard of. A pitch that can in no other way be described as ballsy, was the essence of Romo. He kept going with his best, and trusted in his abilities to get the job done.