Tomo Ohka

This autographed Tomo Ohka rookie card commemorates his Major League Baseball debut on July 19, 1999.

At first, Ohka was not a star in Japan, pitching limited innings for the Yokohama BayStars from 1994-1998. However, scouts from the Boston Red Sox liked what they saw in his young arm and signed him at the end of the 1998 season. It was a shrewd move by the Red Sox: Ohka dazzled in his first two seasons, earning Boston’s minor league player of the year award in 1999 and 2000, playing in the 1999 All-Star Futures Game, and the 2000 Triple A All-Star game.

He went on to have ten productive MLB seasons with the Red Sox, Montreal Expos, Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cleveland Indians, before returning to Japan to finish his career with the BayStars.  Ohka is now a coach with the BayStars.