Sergio Romo Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Sergio Romo wears special hat, closes career with Giants

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 3/28/23

Sergio Romo wrapped up his MLB career Monday night, pitching one last time for the San Francisco Giants in the team's final exhibition game, and he had some extra help from dozens of young fans.

The 2013 All-Star took the mound in the seventh inning at Oracle Park in the city he called home for the first nine years of his career from 2008 to 2016 and faced three Oakland Athletics batters.

Romo -- the longtime closer for the Giants who helped lead the team to three World Series titles -- was immediately called for two clock violations and walked his first hitter. He then unleashed a wild pitch and allowed two singles and a run scored, before being taken out by longtime teammate Hunter Pence, who recently rejoined the team as a coach and mentor.

This is incredible: pic.twitter.com/Y8R8WvCA9z
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) March 28, 2023

Hunter Pence walks out to the mound to take Sergio Romo out -- he heads to the dugout. pic.twitter.com/TILRW3DILU
— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@KleinschmidtJD) March 28, 2023

Thank you, @SergioRomo54 pic.twitter.com/AHgDkWzpOw
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) March 28, 2023

San Francisco reached out to the 40-year-old Romo a few weeks ago to see if he would consider tossing an inning during a spring training contest. Romo explained that when he trotted out to the diamond in the top of the seventh on Monday, he had some company on the mound in the form of scores of signatures under his hat.

Every time a kid asked Sergio Romo for an autograph in spring training he asked them to sign his hat first. He wore this to the mound tonight: pic.twitter.com/O3CXB5BLyr
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) March 28, 2023

When kids at spring training asked for Sergio Romo's autograph, he had them sign his hat. He wore that hat on the mound tonight.

"If this is was the last hat I was going to wear in the big leagues... I figured it would be nice to not go in there alone." pic.twitter.com/4iTxSdaVmG
— KNBR (@KNBR) March 28, 2023

"Very fitting to find some closure in what literally is for me, was a storybook career," Romo said, according to an Associated Press and ESPN report.

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