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John Anthony Romano Jr. (born August 23, 1934) is an American former professional baseball player.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=John Romano )〕 He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Chicago White Sox (1958–59, 1965–66), Cleveland Indians (1960–64) and St. Louis Cardinals (1967). He threw and batted right-handed.〔 Romano was considered one of the top catchers in the American League during the early 1960s. ==Baseball career== Romano was signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent in 1954. In , while playing for the Waterloo White Hawks, Romano hit 9 home runs in nine consecutive games. He accumulated 38 home runs with a .321 batting average and led the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League with 108 runs scored and 124 runs batted in. His 38 home runs in 1955 set a league record.〔 Romano split the season between the Vancouver Mounties and the Memphis Chickasaws.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=John Romano Minor League Statistics )〕 In , Romano played for the Indianapolis Indians of the American Association. The Indians' manager was former major league All-Star catcher, Walker Cooper, who tutored Romano and helped to greatly improve his catching skills.〔 Romano was called up late in the 1958 season, making his major league debut with the Chicago White Sox on September 12, at the age of 23.〔 The White Sox' manager, Al Lopez, who was also a former major league catcher, also helped Romano improve his catching skills.〔 Playing as a backup to Sherm Lollar in 1959, Romano hit .294 with 5 home runs and 25 RBIs in 53 games, as the Go-Go White Sox won their first American League Pennant in 40 years.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1959 Chicago White Sox )〕 He made one plate appearance as a pinch hitter in the 1959 World Series as the White Sox were defeated by the Los Angeles Dodgers in a six-game series.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1959 World Series )〕 Romano was traded to the Cleveland Indians on December 6, 1959, and replaced Russ Nixon as the Indians starting catcher.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=John Romano Trades and Transactions )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1960 Cleveland Indians )〕 In 1960, he produced 16 home runs and 52 runs batted in along with a .272 batting average.〔 He continued to improve in 1961, hitting for a .310 batting average by mid-season to earn the starting catcher's position for the American League team in the 1961 All-Star Games (two All-Star games per year were played in and ).〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1961 John Romano Batting Log )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1961 All-Star Game 1 )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1961 All-Star Game 2 )〕 He ended the season with a career-high .299 batting average, eighth highest in the league, along with 21 home runs and 80 runs batted in.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1961 American League Batting Leaders )〕 Romano had another good year in 1962, hitting 13 home runs by mid-season and was selected as a reserve catcher for the American League in the 1962 All-Star Games.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1962 John Romano Batting Log )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1962 All-Star Game 1 )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1962 All-Star Game 2 )〕 He ended the season with career-highs of 25 home runs and 81 runs batted in.〔 On May 26, 1963, Romano fractured his little finger while making a tag at home plate.〔 He tried to return to play too soon and, the injury never healed correctly and affected his batting. Romano missed 40 games that year and his batting average would drop to .216.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1963 John Romano Batting Log )〕 In 1964, he platooned alongside catcher Joe Azcue, hitting .241 with 19 home runs.〔 He was traded back to the White Sox on January 20, 1965, as the White Sox sought more offensive production from the catcher's position.〔 Romano's career with the Indians is described in the book "Portrait of a Franchise: An Intimate Look at Cleveland Indians Baseball During the Rockin' Sixties" by Doug Kurkul. Romano had a productive season in 1965 with the White Sox, hitting 18 home runs with a respectable .355 on-base percentage in cavernous Comiskey Park.〔 He also helped guide the White Sox pitching staff to finish second in the league in team earned run average and in shutouts as, the White Sox won 95 games to finish the season in second place behind the Minnesota Twins.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1965 American League Season Summary )〕 Romano followed this performance with 15 home runs and a .344 on-base percentage in 1966 as the White Sox pitching staff led the league in earned run average and in shutouts.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1966 American League Season Summary )〕 Romano was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals where he played one final season as a backup catcher for Tim McCarver in 1967.〔 He hit for a .121 batting average in 24 games for the Cardinals as they won the National League pennant.〔 Romano was not on the Cardinals postseason roster and was released.〔(Cards release Romano, Woodeshick )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Johnny Romano」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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