Andrew Romine Plays All 9 Positions in One Game

On September 30th, 2017, Detroit Tigers utility player Andrew Romine does something that had only been done ever by five players in Major League Baseball history. He played all nine positions in one game and led to his nickname, All Nine Romine. And even though his versatility can be an asset, it also showed a detriment to his playing career. We're going to dive into how this all happened and what made him so unique today on Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide, as you daily learn more about sports history, increasing your sports knowledge. Today's trivia question, what is the one position that Andrew Romine did not play prior to the game where he played all nine positions. Now, baseball, throughout its history, has specialized positions more and more. We don't normally see players playing a lot of different positions, especially at pitcher and catcher. These are two positions that are so unique, they actually report to the team earlier than any other position because they are so specialized. But that doesn't mean There's not versatility in the sport, especially growing up in little league or high school. A lot of times you see players playing a lot of different positions as you just want to get your best players on the field at the best positions. But there is a certain position that lends itself to being able to play several positions. And it's called a utility player. And this is a player that many teams use to fill out their roster. It's usually a backup player. that has skills to play multiple positions. So they play outfield, infield, maybe catch. And that way, if there's an injury or someone needs a break for a day or there's a double header and you need to rest a player, this guy can come in and play any position instead of having a backup at every single position. It's a great way to fill out the roster and have even more space for specialized players that you might need during the season. And it wasn't until 1965 when Burt Kevin Harris of the Oakland Athletics became the first player in Major League Baseball to play all nine positions in one game. And Burt wasn't just a utility player. He was a six-time All-Star. And this was actually more of a stunt to sell tickets, get people into it, into the game as the A's were struggling at the time. And the game actually went into extra innings. But Burt wasn't able to finish as he actually hurt his shoulder badly. during the game, probably because he was doing so much. Three years later, Cesar Travar of the Minnesota Twins actually accomplished the feat as well. Then, it was another 32 years before someone did it again. In 2000, Scott Sheldon of the Texas Rangers, who had played eight positions during a spring training game where they were trying to figure out where to play him, they decided towards the end of the season, hey, let's try this out at the major league level. Then, less than a month later, Shane Halter did the same thing for the Detroit Tigers. But most recently, it was Andrew Romine of the Detroit Tigers who did it in September 2017. Now, every single time this was done, it was done at September or later. It was always done at the end of the season. Usually, the team was out of it or had already clinched. It was just a game. Try to make the end of the season a fun time for the fans and the players. Now, Andrew Romine was born into baseball. His father, Kevin Romine, was an outfielder for the Boston Red Sox. And his brother, Austin, also made it to the major leagues. Now, they both played high school ball in California. And Andrew wasn't just a baseball player. He actually lettered in baseball, football, and track and field. And after his senior year, he was actually drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 36th round, but opted to go to Arizona State. on a baseball scholarship where he took them to the College World Series in 2005 and 2009. And in 2007, he entered the Major League Baseball draft and was drafted in the fifth round by the Los Angeles Angels. And he led the Midwest Minor League in stolen bases his first year while working his way up through the minors. And in 2010, he would get promoted to the Major Leagues on September 24th, making his Major League debut, but struggled. in his first four games, batting just one for 11 that first year. And he would get sent back down to the minors to start the next year, but would get called up again in June and again struggle at the plate when he was called up, hitting just 125 in the 10 games he played and be sent down to the minors, but be called up again the following year for 12 games. But this time, his bat came along with him, hitting 412, hitting his first RBI during the season. And in 2013, he started to be with the team more regularly. He played in 47 games, had a batting average of. 259. But in March 2014, Andrew would be traded to the Detroit Tigers, where he would really ingrain himself in the team. And he would hit his first home run that year. And he came into the Detroit Tigers knowing he was going to be a utility man. And he spent the next four years really mastering every position he played. And he actually was able to pitch for the first time in August of 2014, when they were getting destroyed by the Minnesota Twins 20-6. He didn't have a whole lot of success. He gave up three runs on four hits, including back-to-back home runs. But Andrew really did take to playing all different kinds of positions. After 2016, he was given the Bill McAdams 10th Man of the Year Award. In the following year, he would go on to sign a one-year $ 1. 3 million contract and really show his worth to the team as a utility man. As during the season, he would play 27 games at second base, 24 games at center field, 23 games at third base, 22 games at first base, 18 at left field and 11 at right field, 10 games at shortstop, two games at pitcher and one game at catcher. Now one game was a special game. It's where he played every single position. And how this happened was actually a two-year journey. The manager, Brad Ausmus, really liked Andrew. And Andrew had been talking to him for two years about, hey, I can do that. He knew about it had been done before. And he had been playing so many different positions for them. He knew he could do it in one game. And they were struggling that year as they only won 64 games and finished last in their division. So at the end of the year, his manager finally gave him the opportunity. And it all happened on September 30th, 2017, in a game versus the Minnesota Twins. And Ausmus had actually wanted to do it a day later, but the weather didn't look good, so he wanted to make sure it was a good day, so there would be less chance of injury. So in the first inning, Andrew started in left field, where he caught a sacrifice fly. In the second inning, he shifted to center field, And he was able to get a hit at the top of the inning as well. Then, in the third inning, he shifted to right field. And in the fourth, he went into the infield at third base, where he was able to catch a foul ball. And in the fifth inning, he came in to play shortstop, where he actually was able to turn a double play. In the sixth inning, he was able to move to second base. And in the seventh inning is when he did something he had never done before. He came in to be the catcher. Now, one reason he may not have this skill is that his brother, Austin... was a catcher and he was always the catcher and Andrew was always the pitcher. And this is what Andrew said was the scariest part because he didn't have the skills and the knowledge that a regular catcher has as a catcher does so much, but he was able to make it through that inning. And in the eighth inning, he came in to pitch where he was able to get the batter to hit a ground ball and get out of the inning. Then he moved to first base where he finished off the game, catching the last out after a grounder was thrown to first base, giving them the win. 3-2 in this unique experience where he was able to play all positions in one game. But this was the highlight and the high point of his career as he would get waived after this season and get claimed by the Mariners. And then he would sign with the Philadelphia Phillies the following season to a one-year deal. And then after this, he wasn't able to sign with the Major League Club, so he had to sign a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox. And he would bounce around in the minor leagues for another few years until 2021 when he would actually come up and start a game for the Chicago Cubs at shortstop. In December of 2021, he would announce he was retiring from baseball, but will always go down in history as the fifth player all time in Major League Baseball history to play all five positions in one game. And if you want to learn more about the Detroit Tigers, check out the Detroit Tigers Dugout podcast. It's a podcast for Detroit Tiger fans. where hosts Jimmy and Laudan talk you through everything going on with the Detroit Tigers, giving you all the information you need to become the best Tigers fan you can be. And there'll be a link in the description to check out the show. And if you enjoyed this show, go ahead and subscribe wherever you're listening. That way you do not miss a single episode and come back tomorrow for more Daily Sports History. And did you catch the answer to today's trivia question? And the answer is... what is the one position that Andrew Romine did not play prior to the game where he played all nine positions? Ketcher. Prior, this was his first and only major league game at Ketcher, and he had played previously every other position. Thank you.