Toronto Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano of Markham, Ontario has become the third Toronto Blue Jay to win the Tip O’Neill Award. The award is presented to the best Canadian baseball player every year.
Romano is receiving the honour even though he has made the decision to play for Italy at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Romano was on the Italian team that upset Mexico 10-9 in Guadalajara, Mexico at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
The two previous Blue Jays who have won the Tip O’Neill Award were outfielder Rob Butler of East York, Ontario (1993), and first baseman Vladimir Guerrero of Montreal, Quebec (2021). Like Romano, Guerrero Jr. will not play for Canada at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, but for the Dominican Republic, the country where he was raised.
In 2022, Romano was an American League All-Star for the first time. He pitched in 63 games, and had a record of five wins and four losses, with 36 saves and an earned run average of 2.11. In 64 innings pitched, Romano gave up 44 hits, 15 earned runs, and 21 walks, to go along with 73 strikeouts, three holds, and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.02. Like over half of the Blue Jays pitching staff, Romano struggled in the postseason, as he had an earned run average of 10.80.
