JAMES ROBERT ROMAK, born in London, Ontario, on 30 September 1985, is a Canadian-born outfielder / first baseman for SK WYVERNS of the Korean Baseball League, who previously had also competed for the Canadian national baseball team. 

He was selected by the ATLANTA BRAVES in the fourth round ( 127th overall ) of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft.

He made his professional debut with the GULF COAST BRAVES of the Rookie-level GULF COAST LEAGUE in 2003, and played for the DANVILLE BRAVES of the Rookie-level APPALACHIAN LEAGUE in 2004 and 2005, then was promoted to the ROME BRAVES of the Class-A SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE ( SAL ) in 2006, where he had a .247 batting average, 26 doubles, 16 home runs and 68 runs batted in.

Before the 2007 season, the Braves traded Romak with ADAM LaROCHE to the PITTSBURGH PIRATES for MIKE GONZALEZ and BRENT LILLIBRIDGE.

The Pirates assigned Romak to the HICKORY CRAWDADS of the SAL, before promoting him to the LYNCHBURG HILLCATS of the Class-A Advanced CAROLINA LEAGUE. 

Before the 2008 season, BASEBALL PROSPECTUS rated Romak as the Pirates sixth best prospect.

Romak split the 2008 and 2009 seasons with the Hillcats and ALTOONA CURVE of the Class-AA EASTERN LEAGUE.

Romak signed with the KANSAS CITY ROYALS as a minor league free agent for the 2010 season.

With the WILMINGTON BLUE ROCKS of the CAROLINA LEAGUE, Romak was named Player of the Week three times in June 2010, winning Player of the Month honours as well.

Romak batted .251 with 23 home runs for the NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NATURALS of the Class-AA TEXAS LEAGUE in 2011. 

He resigned with the Royals for the 2012 season. 

On 17 May 2012, Romak was traded to the St. LOUIS CARDINALS for cash considerations.

Romak spent most of the 2012 season with the Cardinals Double-AA affiliate SPRINGFIELD CARDINALS. 

In December 2012 Romak re-signed with the Cardinals for 2013 and spent that season with their Triple-AAA affiliate the MEMPHIS REDBIRDS.

On 16 November 2013, he signed a minor league contract with the LOS ANGELES DODGERS and was assigned to the Triple-AAA ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES. In 108 games for the Isotopes in 2014, he hit .280 with 24 homers and 85 RBI.

He was called up to the Dodgers on 28 May 2014, after 1,069 games and 4,306 plate appearances in the minor leagues, however he grounded out to second base in his MLB debut, as a pinch hitter and his first hit was a 2-RBI double off MATT BELISLE of the COLORADO ROCKIES on 8 June 2014. That was his only hit in 21 at-bats for the Dodgers after which he was designated for assignment on 25  June 2014.

Romak signed with the ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS as a minor league free agent in November 2014. On 8 August 2015, the Diamondbacks selected his contract from the Triple-AAA RENO ACES, though they released him on 10 November 2015.

On 13 November 2015 he signed with the YOKOHAMA DeNA BayStars of NIPPON PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL.

On 8 November 2016, Romak signed a minor league deal with the SAN DIEGO PADRES.

On 7 May 2017, Romak had his contract sold to SK WYVERNS of the KBO LEAGUE and is currently playing with the club as a 4th hitter. He has hit over 100 home runs in KBO league. 

Romak has played with the Canadian national baseball team on different occasions, participating in both the 2007 and 2011 Baseball World Cup, winning the Bronze Medal in 2011, as well as the 2011 Pan American Games Gold Medal championship winning team, after which the 2011 Canadian team was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

He continues his professional career around the globe, Jamie Romak brings an array of experience from the major leagues, foreign professional leagues, and the national team to the program as an infield and hitting instructor. 

The native of London, Ontario, played North London baseball and hockey growing up, before moving onto the Badgers and AAA Junior Knights programs. He was a fourth-round pick of the Atlanta Braves in the 2003 draft out of A.B. Lucas Secondary School, the highest-ever pick from a London high school until Great Lake infielder Adam Hall was selected in the second round from Lucas this year.

 

Romak began his professional career out of high school and in 2007 he played in the Hawaii Winter League, and represented Canada at the World Cup. 

In 2008, he played in the prestigious, prospect-laden Arizona Fall League, representing the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

In 2010, the utility player represented his home and native land at the Pan Am Qualifier, where he was named Most Valuable Player among a pool of players which included Mike Trout, Eric Hosmer, Todd Frazier, Mike Moustakas, Jose Abreu, and others. For his performance that year, he also earned Baseball Canada’s Senior National Team Most Valuable Player award.

 

The following season, he was a member of Canada’s first senior squad to win a gold medal, doing so at the Pan Am Games in Mexico just after winning a bronze medal at the World Cup in Panama. As a team he, along with his teammates, was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012 for his efforts. 

In 2014, he made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers, also receiving Baseball Canada’s Special Achievement Award.

 
The following year he played in the majors with the Arizona Diamondbacks, was named a Pacific Coast League mid-season and post-season All-Star, and tied a franchise record at the time for home runs, with 27, and broke the then-RBI record with 100. 

After a season with the Yokohama Baystars in Japan last year, Romak began this year in the red-and-white uniform once again, playing for Canada at the World Baseball Classic in Miami, Florida. He then joined the Triple-AAA El Paso Chihuahuas, an affiliate of the San Diego Padres, and was named Pacific Coast League Player of the Month for April, tied for the lead among all of baseball with 11 home runs, and driving in 25 runs.

In May, he joined SK Wyverns in the Korean Baseball Organization, where he tied the league record with six multi-homer games in a single season – after laying in another league for an entire month. Between El Paso and Korea, Romak hit 42 long balls this season. He is excited to return to the Wyverns for a second season.

 

His career has been highlighted by his first major league call-up, his first big league hit – a two-RBI double – and being one of five players from the Canadian Junior National Team in 2002 to have since played in the majors.

Romak has a vested interest in Canadian baseball, and is a proud member of the Baseball Canada fraternity. He follows the next generation of players closely, and is really impressed with the quality of players coming up. 

With the Great Lake Canadians program, he wants to help liberate talent. He understands that he and the other staff members are in a unique position to identify kids who have the skillset needed to reach their baseball goals and believes that their responsibility to help cultivate that talent is an exciting challenge, and it is one that he embraces.

 

One of Romak’s favourite times of the year is around the Christmas holidays, when all the Great Lake alumni return home, and come back to Centrefield Sports. He believes that it has quickly become a group of players who love being around each other, which is the culture both he and the staff are striving for.

Beyond the diamond, he is a husband to Kristin and father to son Nash.