Six years, three different Major League affiliations, three different injuries and countless small minor league towns; it was time for Josh Romanski to reinvent himself.
The left-handed pitcher from Norco, Calif., picked up a bat in the fall of 2013, following his release from the Chicago White Sox. It's something he had done a little in past offseasons, mainly fooling around with his younger brother, Jake. But it was different this time.
There was rust, but not much -- that smooth, fluid swing slowly began to return.
Maybe reinvention isn't the right word. Romanski's lefty bat did help earn him to three All-America nods as a two-way player for the University of San Diego. The Saturday starter for the Toreros, Romanski played center field the other three days a week they played, and he also played two ways for Team USA the summer before his junior season.
It was time to try the bat again. He was ready to walk away from his pitching career but not from baseball. Minor league bus rides be damned, Romanski wasn't ready to leave the game behind for good.
"I don't like to think it's over," he said. "I wasn't sure if I knew that I could but I knew that I wanted to and it was still something that I loved to do, even more so than pitching. After I got released from the White Sox I just sort of took the bat and started swinging."
So, he gave it a go. He found an independent league team and signed as a rookie. He left his pitching career behind and began again as an outfielder.
"After I got released from the White Sox in 2013 I knew that I was going to have to go play independent ball so I decided to make the switch," he said. "I hit all off season and trained as a position player. When an independent ball team gave me a chance, I was able to put it together and have a pretty good year."
Romanski was drafted by the Brewers in the fourth round of the 2008 MLB Draft. He was the type scouts liked to call "toolsy," with streaky power but great range in center field. He wasn't a fireballer, though on a good day he could hit mid-90s on the gun, and his changeup was superb.
Before draft day, his intentions were clear: He would give up the bat and concentrate all of his efforts on the pitching mound. But he still had a desire to play in the National League so he could occasionally swing the bat.
"Do I think I have the skill set for it? Yeah," Romanski said prior to the draft in 2008. "I think I can do it. I'd like to be able to think that I could pitch in the National League and hit for myself and do it fairly well."
Success in the minor leagues wasn't immediate as a string of injuries, surgeries and rehabs set him back initially. With the Yankees in 2011, it finally came together. He went 7-6 with a 2.97 ERA in High-A and Double-A. But again, another injury would be his undoing.
"That kind of derailed me, as far as the pitching career goes," he said.
He signed with the Gary Southshore Railcats of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball -- the second rookie contract of his career -- and began training.
It was far from a steep learning curve. Romanski hit .311 with 60 RBI, seven home runs and stole 11 bases.
"I've alwaus had a pretty easy, natural swing," he said. "After couple weeks I started feeling good and after about a month I felt like I had my swing back. Facing live pitching was a little different, obviously, after not having seen it for a while. I started a little slow this year in the season but once I got going I continued to get it back every day little by little."
At the end of the season, he was traded to the St. Paul Saints, but he's still hoping for a spring training invitation from an affiliated team.
Even if that invitation doesn't come, he'll report to Minnesota. The underlying motivation is still there: Baseball is fun again for Romanski.
"I wanted to play for the right reasons, because I always loved it," Romanski said. "It was never about the money. Every day on the baseball field is just a blessing to be out there and play the game that I love. That's what it was about."
