Sergio Romo became the Giants new closer in 2012. As such, it makes total sense that he's turned into the latest rock-star, semi-famous, bearded oddball to rep the Giants nationally.
Which is also why it makes sense (because it's totally nonsensical) that Romo wore a shirt to the Giants World Series parade that simply said "I Just Look Illegal."
It's actually an apt description for Romo's slider -- the San Francisco closer crushed hitters with his top pitch this season en route to a 1.79 ERA, 14 saves and 63 strikeouts in 55.1 innings. And, of course, it's a humorous joke about Romo's appearance. You might not know this, but the Giants closer is a native Californian, born in Brawley, Calif., a small, remote town 20 miles north of Mexico. He is the grandson of migrant workers.
Monica Novoa, who leads the Drop the I-Word campaign, told colorlines.com that Romo is using his platform to "show how ridiculous the notion is for anyone to be considered 'illegal.'"
And of course, there's a pun there on the fact that Romo generally looks like the type of person who might do something against the law. (That's meant as a compliment.)
Romo didn't just look illegal, however. He may have acted that way too during the parade. He was the only Giants player to leave his car and spent about 90 percent of his time at the parade running around and playing with fans while his car moved slowly down the street.
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When Romo was in his car, he was grabbing Jaymee Sire of CSN Bay Area with a bear hug, pulling her up into his car and giving out an interview.
"Everything we've been through as a group, everything the city has backed us up through, what an unbelievable ride," Romo said. "What an unbelievable ride. What a fitting, fitting way to reward these fans -- unbelievable feeling."
Romo seems to genuinely love the city of San Francisco and the Giants fans and even though he -- like many of the Giants -- is a total nutjob, he's become one of the top fan favorites on the entire team.
