Meet the Jackfish: Mattingly Romanin
Mattingly Romanin was destined to be a baseball player.
The Welland Jackfish infielder/catcher not only had a father who worked for the Toronto Blue Jays, but was also named after New York Yankees great and current Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly.
“My mom jokes I came out with a baseball bat in my hand,” the 29-year-old Burlington native said. “I think I scared them a little bit by playing hockey but I guess I smartened up with a name like mine. I only started playing when I was 16 but I was kind of cool with it.”
Romanin grew up close to the game thanks to his father, Mal Romanin, who worked for the Blue Jays as Manager, Baseball Information and is now Professor, Sports Communications and Public Relations at Centennial College.
The elder Romain engineered a couple of meetings between his son and Don Mattingly when he was still an active player.
“When I met him the first time I was star stuck and had no idea,” Mattingly Romanin said. “He made a joke that most people name their dogs, not their kids, after him!
“He’s awesome. It’s no surprise to anybody he’s having some success managing. He has a great baseball mind and he’s a great person.”
Mattingly Romanin may have got a late start on the diamond but by the time he was 19 was suiting up for Chicago State. In 2015, he was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 39th round.
“That’s a day I’ll never forget. That’s a day you dream of,” he said. “I grew up around the game with my dad being with the Blue Jays. To have all the hard work pay off and to have that moment, it’s something it’s hard to explain.”
Mattingly Romanin spent three years in the lower minor leagues with the Blue Jays before retiring. He joined the Jackfish in 2019.
“The team we have here is something special,” he said. “To be able to come out and play alongside this group we have — whenever you’re on a first-place team it’s always fun. It makes everything a lot easier and you can still scratch that competitive itch and still play in one of the top leagues. It’s awesome.”
Mattingly Romanin, who works as an inside sales representative with United Rentals in Stoney Creek, celebrated the birth of his first child earlier this year.
“I tried (to name him) Jeter but it didn’t work so we landed on Hudson,” he laughed.
The Jackfish, who are tied for first place with London in the Intercounty Baseball League standings with 24-9 records, are home to Brantford Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
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