From the Collection: John Romano, c, Cleveland Indians
…
Cleveland has had some great catchers. In the 50’s you had Jim Hegan. In the 90’s you had Sandy Alomar Jr. The in the late-2000’s you had Victor Martinez. But one of the better ones that people don’t remember is John Romano, who was the team’s starting catcher from 1960-1964.
…
During Romano’s time in Cleveland, he had a very nice 123 OPS+ and averaged 18 HR a season. He was an All-Star in 1961 and 1962.
…
Romano’s time in Cleveland ended in 1965 when he was included in one of the more disastrous trade deals in Cleveland’s history. Cleveland packed up Romano, Tommie Agee, and Tommy John as part of a three-team, seven-player trade that brought the beloved–and nearing the end of his career–Rocky Colavito back to Cleveland. Agee and John were good young players who would go on to have solid careers. While Colavito still had something left in his tank–he was an All-Star in 1965 and 1966–he would be out of baseball by 1969.