Rolando Roomes

Rolando Audley Roomes (born February 15, 1962, in Kingston, Jamaica) is a former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball primarily as an outfielder from 1988 to 1990. He played for the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Montreal Expos.

Early life[]

Roomes was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He was signed by the Chicago Cubs on July 14, 1980, as an amateur free agent.^[1] His minor league career featured high batting average and strikeout totals. In 1987, Roomes played for the AA Pittsfield Cubs and had a .308 batting average with 135 strikeouts, and followed that up in 1988 with a .301 batting average and 134 strikeouts for the AAA Iowa Cubs.^[2]

Major league career[]

It took Roomes eight seasons in the minor leagues until he made his Major league debut at age 26 on April 12, 1988, as a pinch runner for Jerry Mumphrey in a 7-5 Cubs road loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.^[3] He finished the season with 17 games played for the Cubs. On December 8, 1988, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Lloyd McClendon. On May 3, 1989, the Reds called up Roomes, who remained on the major league roster for most of the season, playing 107 games and hitting .263.^[1]

In 1990 Roomes continued to struggle with strikeouts, plus the Reds had acquired outfielders Billy Hatcher and later Glenn Braggs. After hitting .213 with two home runs and seven runs RBI's in 60 plate appearances, he was released by the Reds, who went on to win the 1990 World Series. On the same day the Reds released him, June 18, 1990, he was claimed on waivers by the Montreal Expos. He appeared in 16 games for the Expos, hitting .286 in 15 plate appearances. It was his final year in the big leagues, with the Expos releasing him in December 1990.^[1] Roomes retired after the 1991, splitting time between the minor league Portland Beavers and Denver Zephyrs.

References[]

External links[]

• Rolando Roomes SABR Biography