Tomokazu Ohka (大家友和, Ōka Tomokazu?, IPA: [oːka tomokazɯ]) (Commonly referred as Tomo Ohka), born March 18, 1976 in Kyoto, Japan) is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. Previously, Ohka played with the Boston Red Sox (1999-2001), Montreal Expos (2001-04), Washington Nationals (2005), and Milwaukee Brewers (2005-06). He was traded mid-season in June 2005 for second baseman Junior Spivey. He throws right-handed and switch hits.
On November 20, 1998 Ohka was purchased by the Boston Red Sox from the Yokohama BayStars (Japan's Central League). Ohka's statistics in Japan were less than flattering, but his ability to control his pitches sparked the interest of the Red Sox.
Early success
In 1999, Ohka began his MLB career with the Red Sox' AA affiliate at that time, the Trenton Thunder. In 12 starts he went 8-0 with a 3.00 era. He was promoted to the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox where he had a 1.92 era and a 7-0 record. The parent club noted the success and on July 19, 1999 he made his major league debut. Ohka found himself in the minors again in 2000. With Pawtucket he went 9-6 in 19 starts with a 2.96 era, with 3 complete games, one being a perfect game. In both 1999 and 2000, The Red Sox named Ohka their minor league player of the year. Ohka was in the Futures game in 1999 and 2000 and in 2000 he was the AAA All Star game starting pitcher.
Ohka's Major League Path
During the middle of the 2001 Ohka was sent to Montreal for the veteran closer Ugueth Urbina. Ohka had a mildly successful run with the Expos. His most productive season came with the Expos in 2002, when he posted 13-8 with 118 strikeouts and a 3.18 ERA.
In June 2004, Ohka broke his right forearm when he was hit by a line drive off Carlos Beltrán's bat in Kansas City. Ohka underwent major surgery and was out until mid-September. He finished 3-7 with a 3.40 ERA in 15 starts.
As the Expos moved to Washington, D.C. for the 2005 season, Ohka was part of a starting rotation that included Liván Hernández, Esteban Loaiza and Tony Armas, Jr.. Ohka was involved in an incident with Washington manager Frank Robinson. Ohka protested being removed from a game, a move which resulted in an undisclosed fine from the team.[1] This disagreement, along with an injury to Nationals second baseman Jose Vidro, was reason enough to deal Ohka. On June 10, 2005 the Nationals traded the righty to the Milwaukee Brewers for second baseman Junior Spivey. The trade is widely believed to have benefited the Brewers more because it allowed them to open the door for highly-touted second baseman Rickie Weeks and get a quality pitcher at almost no cost. In Tomo's first game with his new club on June 14, 2005, he threw a complete game shut out against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays during interleague play.
Ohka was the Brewers' fourth starting pitcher behind Ben Sheets, Doug Davis and Chris Capuano. However, on December 1, 2006, the Brewers declined to to offer Ohka salary arbritration, making him a free agent.
On January 23, 2007, the right-hander reached a tentative agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays on a one year contract. The agreement was made official on January 25, 2007, and the contract was announced to be worth $1,500,000. Ohka can earn an additional $1,500,000 in incentives. Incentives are usually based upon innings pitched or game appearances.
In an eight-year career, Ohka has compiled a 48-57 record with 538 strikeouts and a 4.04 ERA in 943 innings.
Ohka has an average --and sometimes a shade above-- fastball, a decent curve, a slider and change-up, all of which can be effective when he is focused. Ohka's success lies in his ability to change speeds and location effectively, keeping the hitter off balance.
Source : Wikipedia
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Farmers only and the curse of Tomo OhkaTomo Ohka Ohka. Triple-A: Drew T. Anderson was 4 for 5 and Shaun Cumberland was 3 for 4 in the Bats' 6-3 loss. Bobby Livingston gave up 9 hits in 6 innings and had 0 strikeouts, and Tomo Ohka struck out 9 while allowing 10 hits for ... Continue reading
Farmers only and the curse of Tomo OhkaBobby Livingston gave up 9 hits in 6 innings and had 0 strikeouts, and Tomo Ohka struck out 9 while allowing 10 hits for Charlotte.Double-A: Chattanooga was 1-hit again, this time losing 7-0. Craig Tatum did the honors this night -- in ... Continue reading
Los Mets Fired the Wrong ManOne year earlier, when Japanese Washington Nationals pitcher Tomo Ohka had publicly disrespected black manager Frank Robinson, he was fined, and traded days later. A general manager may not tolerate any player disrespecting his manager. ... Continue reading
5 new messages in 1 topic - digestTomo Ohka > Clayton Richard > Wes Whistler > Kyle McCulloch > Aaron Poreda > > Oh, boy it's going to be rough... My guess is that even though he's a reliever, Carasco appears capable. He's been quite impressive as a reliever and has a ... Continue reading
Tomo OhkaTomo Ohka. Partially-Japanese knucleballer Charlie Zink ( tinyurl.com/56xjqo ) pitched brilliently, went 8 innings giving up only 3 hits and one run (earned), but unfortunately the PawSox were shut out by Durham's pitching staff. ... Continue reading
Ohka's season of struggle improvingAnd nobody on the team knows that feeling more this season than winning pitcher Tomo Ohka. Ohka (3-10), won a decision for the first time since July 5, striking out nine in 61/3 innings, and scattering 10 hits to help the Knights ... Continue reading
Tomo OhKa UpdateYesterday, our hero pitched 2 scoreless innings, lowering his spring training ERA to 0.90 I wonder if the White Sox are willing to give him a shot. Let's see if he survives the cut today. Continue reading
Pregame notes, rotation speculationHowever, he won't be facing Tomo Ohka. For whatever reason, Charlotte is starting Lance Broadway tonight with the rest of the announced rotation bumped back a day. Wes Whisler tomorrow, Tomo Ohka Wednesday and Charlie Haeger Thursday ... Continue reading
All 15 Year Team: Starting PitchersTomo Ohka: What a year Tomo had in 1999! In his first year of American baseball, he went 8-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 12 games for the Thunder, and then went 7- 0 with a 1.58 ERA for Triple-A Pawtucket. He got up to Boston by the end of the ... Continue reading
Tomo Ohka Signs With White SoxAccording to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, the White Sox have signed pitcher Tomo Ohka, who turns 32 in March. Ohka made ten big league starts in '07 for the Jays, and the results were not pretty. He also pitched at Triple A for ... Continue reading
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