Tom O'Malley

3.1. Major League Baseball (MLB) Career

O'Malley's professional journey in American baseball began with his draft selection and included playing for multiple major league teams over nine seasons.

3.1.3. MLB Performance and Duration

O'Malley played a total of 466 games in Major League Baseball over nine seasons. His career MLB statistics include 310 hits, 54 doubles, 5 triples, 13 home runs, and 131 runs batted in (RBI). He maintained a career batting average of .256 with a .329 on-base percentage and a .340 slugging percentage.

Year	Team	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	TB	RBI	SB	CS	SH	SF	BB	IBB	HBP	SO	GDP	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1982	SF	92	327	291	26	80	12	4	2	106	27	0	3	1	1	33	9	1	39	11	.275	.350	.364	.714
1983		135	473	410	40	106	16	1	5	139	45	2	4	4	3	52	4	4	47	12	.259	.345	.339	.684
1984		13	27	25	2	3	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	0	.120	.185	.120	.305
	CHW	12	16	16	0	2	0	0	0	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1	.125	.125	.125	.250
'84 Total		25	43	41	2	5	0	0	0	5	3	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	7	1	.122	.163	.122	.285
1985	BAL	8	14	14	1	1	0	0	1	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	.071	.071	.286	.357
1986		56	200	181	19	46	9	0	1	58	18	0	1	1	1	17	1	0	21	4	.254	.317	.320	.637
1987	TEX	45	134	117	10	32	8	0	1	43	12	0	0	0	2	15	1	0	9	7	.274	.351	.368	.718
1988	MON	14	31	27	3	7	0	0	0	7	2	0	0	0	1	3	1	0	4	0	.259	.323	.259	.582
1989	NYM	9	11	11	2	6	2	0	0	8	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	.545	.545	.727	1.273
1990		82	133	121	14	27	7	0	3	43	14	0	0	0	1	11	1	0	20	1	.223	.286	.355	.641
MLB Total: 9 years		466	1366	1213	117	310	54	5	13	413	131	2	8	6	9	133	17	5	151	37	.256	.329	.340	.670

3.2. Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Career

O'Malley spent six highly successful seasons in Japanese professional baseball, playing for the Hanshin Tigers and Yakult Swallows in the Central League. His tenure in Japan was marked by significant individual achievements and contributions to team championships.

5.1. Managerial Career

From 1998 to 2001, O'Malley served as the inaugural manager for the Newark Bears, an independent league team in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. In his first year as manager, he also appeared in two games as a player. Under his leadership, the Bears reached the playoffs in 2001, defeating the Nashua Pride 2-1 in the first round before losing 3-2 to the Somerset Patriots in the championship series.

5.2. Coaching and Scouting Roles

In 2001, O'Malley visited his former manager Katsuya Nomura during the Hanshin Tigers' spring training. His advice to foreign players was highly regarded, leading to discussions about his potential coaching role with Hanshin the following year. Although Nomura's resignation initially put these plans on hold, O'Malley had already resigned from his managerial position with the Bears based on the verbal agreement. Consequently, he returned to Hanshin in 2002 as a temporary batting coach during spring training. His enthusiastic coaching impressed manager Senichi Hoshino, leading to his appointment as a special coach for the remainder of the 2002 and 2003 seasons. During games, he was officially registered as a scorer and wore a jersey in the dugout.

As a special coach from 2002 to 2003, O'Malley played a vital role in mentoring Hanshin's foreign players, including George Arias, Trey Moore, Jeff Williams, and Jerrod Riggan, contributing significantly to the Tigers' league championship in 2003. He resigned from his coaching position after Senichi Hoshino stepped down as manager.

From 2004 to November 2009, O'Malley served as a scout for the Hanshin Tigers in the United States, scouting players in both the major and minor leagues. He also traveled to Japan during spring training to offer advice to foreign players. However, his contract with Hanshin was terminated in November 2009, following the acquisition of foreign players like Lou Ford and Kevin Mench, who did not perform as expected.

After leaving Hanshin, O'Malley joined the agency of baseball negotiator Arn Tellem, working as a liaison to help Japanese players transition to Major League Baseball. In October 2013, he returned to Hanshin for a nine-year stint as a hitting coach assistant for the first team. Due to coaching roster limitations, he wore a trainer's jersey in the dugout until 2015. His coaching contract with Hanshin concluded on October 27, 2016. In 2018 and 2019, O'Malley coached a high school softball team in the United States.

5.3. Other Baseball-Related Activities

O'Malley also worked as a professional baseball player agent after his scouting tenure with Hanshin.

6.1. MLB Awards and Recognition

While O'Malley did not achieve major individual awards in Major League Baseball, he was recognized for his performance in the minor leagues, winning the International League MVP Award in 1989.

6.2. NPB Awards and Honors

O'Malley's tenure in Nippon Professional Baseball was marked by significant accolades:

• Batting Title: 1 time (1993)
• On-base Percentage Leader: 4 times (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995) - a record for foreign players.
• Most Winning RBI: 2 times (1995, 1996) - a special award.
• Most Valuable Player (MVP): 1 time (1995)
• Best Nine: 1 time (1995)
• Golden Glove Award: 1 time (1992)
• All-Star Game MVP: 1 time (1993, Game 2)
• Japan Series MVP: 1 time (1995)
• Monthly MVP: 3 times (May 1994, April 1995, August 1995)
• Excellent JCB MEP Award: 1 time (1995)

6.3. Key Career Records

O'Malley set several notable statistical milestones and records during his playing career in NPB:

• First NPB appearance: April 6, 1991, against Yokohama Taiyo Whales (1st game of the season) at Yokohama Stadium, starting as the 3rd batter and first baseman.
• First NPB hit, home run, and RBI: On the same day as his debut, in the 4th inning, a go-ahead solo home run against Hiroaki Nakayama.
• 100th NPB Home Run: August 12, 1995, against the Chunichi Dragons (17th game of the season) at Nagoya Dome, a solo home run off Takuichi Furuike. (183rd player in NPB history to reach this milestone).
• 4 consecutive seasons leading the league in on-base percentage (1992-1995), becoming only the second player in NPB history to achieve this feat since the current calculation method was adopted in 1985.
• 6 consecutive seasons with a batting average of .300 or higher (1991-1996), a first for a foreign player in NPB history.
• All-Star Game appearances: 3 times (1993, 1994, 1996).
• Most intentional walks in a single season for the Yakult Swallows: 23 (1995).

O'Malley wore several uniform numbers throughout his career:

• 35 (1982-1984, San Francisco Giants)
• 26 (1984, Chicago White Sox)
• 17 (1985-1986, Baltimore Orioles)
• 41 (1987, Texas Rangers)
• 23 (1988, Montreal Expos)
• 27 (1989-1990, New York Mets)
• 1 (1991-1994, Hanshin Tigers)
• 3 (1995-1996, Yakult Swallows)
• 89 (2002-2003, Hanshin Tigers coach)
• 80 (2014-2016, Hanshin Tigers coach)

7.1. Media Appearances and Commercials

O'Malley frequently appeared in Japanese media. In 1993 and 1994, he provided the jingle voice for the commercial breaks during the "MBS Tigers Live" radio broadcasts on MBS Radio, including for daytime games and non-Hanshin matches.

After his retirement as a player, O'Malley appeared on television programs. On October 18, 1997, he was a guest on Fuji Television's "LOVE LOVE Aishiteru," where he famously sang the Hanshin Tigers team song, "Rokko Oroshi." This performance was noted for being off-key, leading musician Takuro Yoshida to famously comment that it was "the moment in my life I most wanted to quit music." This segment was re-aired during the show's final special broadcast on July 21, 2022. O'Malley also appeared on TV Asahi's "Beat Takeshi's Sports Taisho" on May 6, 2018, as one of the "Legend 9" players in a baseball challenge.

From 2003 to 2009, during his time as a special coach and scout for the Hanshin Tigers, O'Malley starred in television commercials for Hanshin Electric Railway. These commercials aimed to inform the public that Koshien Stadium (operated by Hanshin Electric Railway) had no parking and encouraged fans to use the Hanshin train. In these ads, O'Malley spoke in Japanese, often with a Kansai dialect, saying コウシエンキュウジョウニハ、チュウシャジョウハ、アリマヘーン_{Kōshien kyūjō ni wa, chūshajō wa, arimaheen}^Japanese ("There's no parking at Koshien Stadium") and ハンシンデンシャガ、イチバンヤー_{Hanshin densha ga, ichiban yaa!}^Japanese ("Hanshin train is number one!"). In 2007 and 2008, he co-starred with Ryan Vogelsong's wife, Nicole Vogelsong, where Nicole spoke in English, and O'Malley provided the Japanese translation. After his scouting contract was terminated in 2009, Kōzō Kawato took over the commercials. Posters featuring O'Malley could also be found at Koshien Stadium.

O'Malley released a CD titled "O'Malley's Dynamic English ~O'Malley's Rokko Oroshi~" on May 25, 1994, which sold 60,000 copies. The rendition of "Rokko Oroshi" on this CD gained attention for being notably off-key and was featured on radio programs like "Kosakin DE Wao!" on TBS Radio. The song, with its first verse in Japanese and second in English, was also played on Asahi Broadcasting Corporation Radio's "Yonayona..." during the Tuesday broadcasts featuring Hanshin Tigers fan Masahiko Masuda. On January 9, 2012, the song was featured on NHK-FM's 10-hour special "Sepa Taikō! Kyō wa Ichinichi 'Pro Yakyū Song' Zanmai" (Central vs. Pacific League! Today is a Day of "Pro Baseball Songs" Extravaganza) and was selected as the "Most Valuable Song" (MVS). A digitally remastered version of the CD was re-released on September 10, 2014.

7.2. Memorable Anecdotes and Public Perception

O'Malley's personality and on-field actions led to several memorable anecdotes and contributed to his unique public perception in Japan. His catchphrases, "Hanshin fans are number one!" and "Yakult fans, please support!", became iconic among fans of both teams. His willingness to engage with the media and fans, along with his distinctive playing style and mannerisms, cemented his status as a beloved foreign player in NPB history.