Top Yankees Prospect Stops By Livingston Mall

A summer shower couldn't deter local New York Yankees fans from meeting Austin Romine, the man who is likely to be the Yankees' future starting catcher.

Romine was in Livingston for an autograph signing at the Sports Express store, which is located on the upper level of the Livingston Mall.

The New York Yankees signed Romine in the second round of the 2007 MLB Draft and he has been a rising star from within the organization ever since.

In his first full season of playing professional baseball for the Charleston RiverDogs, Romine posted a .300 batting average. In the following season, Romine continued to improve when he slugged a career high 13 home runs for the Tampa Yankees.

Before this season even began, Romine faced even greater expectations from the fans after he was ranked the 86th best prospect in all of Major League Baseball by the popular baseball magazine, Baseball America.

So far this season, in 96 games with the Trenton Thunder, the California native is hitting .268 with seven home runs and 54 RBIs. His production at the plate warranted him a selection to the 2010 Double-A All-Star Game as the Eastern League's starting catcher. In addition, he was chosen to participate in the annual XM Futures Game in California, which highlights the top prospects in all of Major League Baseball.

When it comes to his fans, Romine is already a big league talent. Throughout the autograph signing, Romine took time to answer all of his fans' questions and talked about all things baseball ranging from the minor leagues to his memorabilia. When speaking about baseball cards in particular, Romine revealed that his mother has become an avid collector of the growing library of the baseball cards that bear his image.

Romine welcomed the chance to chat with the local sports fans, "It's a nice opportunity because when you're on the playing field you don't really get to interact with the fans, but this gives me the opportunity to talk to each of them".

When asked how it would feel to potentially replace catcher Jorge Posada in the Yankees lineup within the next few years, Romine was quick to point out that he nor anyone else could ever replace the long-time Yankees backstop, "Jorge Posada is just one of those guys that is irreplaceable". Nonetheless, it appears likely that Romine will be taking over behind the plate at some point in the near future.

According to Romine one of his best attributes is his passion to win and that is one of the reasons that he believes he will thrive with the Yankees organization."I like to win and the Yankees are clearly a winning franchise," he added. Romine also indicated that he is grateful for the opportunity to play for such a storied and successful organization like the New York Yankees.

It is safe to say that despite never having played in the big leagues, Austin Romine is well on his way to winning over Yankee fans.

For years, the Sports Express store has brought in many popular professional athletes from the Tri-State area to Livingston and Monday evening's signing was no exception. The next in-store autograph signing will be held on September 21st at 6:00pm and will feature New York Jets football star, Kris Jenkins. Pre-sale tickets are available and are priced at $25.

A very special thanks goes out to both Austin Romine and the Sports Express staff for making this interview possible.