Blaze Ka'ai Tom (born May 29, 1994) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

who is currently a free agent. He was drafted in the 5th round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks ...

by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2021. He has previously played in MLB for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

Amateur career

Tom graduated from

Saint Louis School Saint Louis School, located in the neighborhood of Kaimuki in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a historic Roman Catholic college preparatory school for boys. It was founded in 1846 to serve Catholics in the former Kingdom of Hawaii. Located within the Roman ...

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

, where he played baseball and football, in 2012. He was teammates with future

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

winner and

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

first round pick

Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted second overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 NFL Draft. Mariota play ...

. After going undrafted in the

2012 Major League Baseball draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...

, he enrolled at

Fort Scott Community College Fort Scott Community College is a community college in Fort Scott, Kansas, United States. It has satellite buildings in other cities in Crawford County, including Pittsburg and Frontenac, along with sites in Paola and at the Hillsdale Learning ...

Fort Scott, Kansas Fort Scott is a city in and the county seat of Bourbon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,552. It is named for Gen. Winfield Scott. The city is located south of Kansas City on the Marmaton ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

. As a freshman in 2013, he batted .387 with 11 home runs and 57 RBIs. After his freshman year, he transferred to the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

and joined their baseball team. In 2015, as a junior, he batted .375 with five home runs, 51 RBIs, 15 doubles, and 16 stolen bases.

Professional career

Cleveland Indians

Tom was selected by the

in the fifth round of the

. He signed with Cleveland and made his professional debut that same season with the

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were a M ...

where he batted .283 with three home runs and 29 RBIs in 66 games. He played in only 28 games in 2016, with the

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following t ...

, due to a left shoulder injury. In 2017, he played with the

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

where he slashed .254/.340/.418 with ten home runs, 65 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases in 126 games, and in 2018, he played for the

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

, batting .245/.329/.399 with 12 home runs and 64 RBIs in 121 games. Tom returned to Akron to begin 2019, with whom he was named an Eastern League All-Star as well as the Eastern League Player of the Month for May after hitting .333 with seven home runs in 26 games during the month. He was promoted to the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

in July with whom he finished the year. Over 132 games between Akron and Columbus, Tom hit .290/.380/.532 with 23 home runs and 86 RBIs.

Oakland Athletics

On December 10, 2020, Tom was selected by the

in the Rule 5 Draft. In 2021, Tom made Oakland's Opening Day roster after batting .321 over 28 spring training at-bats. On April 1, 2021, Tom made his major league debut as a pinch runner for

Mitch Moreland Mitchell Austin Moreland (born September 6, 1985), nicknamed "2-Bags", is an American professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres ...

. On April 4, Tom made his first career pitching appearance, pitching a scoreless ninth inning for the Athletics in a 9–2 loss against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. On April 5, Tom collected his first MLB hit, an RBI single, off of David Price of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. On April 19, 2021, after batting .063 for Oakland, Tom was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Athletics.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On April 21, 2021, Tom was claimed off waivers by the

. He was activated on April 27. In 39 games for the Pirates, primarily as a left fielder, Tom hit .152 with two home runs and 11 RBIs. On August 16, Tom was designated for assignment by the Pirates. On August 20, Tom cleared waivers and was assigned outright to the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

, with whom he batted .190/.299/.310 over 23 games. On September 20, the Pirates released Tom.

San Francisco Giants

On September 24, 2021, Tom signed a two-year minor league deal with the

. He was assigned to the

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 yea ...

with whom he batted .130/.167/.217 over six games. Tom was assigned to Triple-A Sacramento to begin the 2022 season. On April 29, 2022, Tom was selected to the active roster after

Brandon Belt Brandon Kyle Belt (born April 20, 1988), nicknamed "Baby Giraffe", "Sparky", and “Captain”, is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the S ...

and

Steven Duggar Steven Michael Duggar (born November 4, 1993), nicknamed Duggy, is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Texas ...

tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Tom went 0-for-1 in his only game before he was returned to Triple-A the following day. Tom appeared in 78 games for the River Cats on the year, slashing .239/.339/.414 with 10 home runs and 47 RBI before he was released on August 7, 2022.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tom, Kaai 1994 births Living people Baseball players from Honolulu Major League Baseball outfielders Oakland Athletics players Pittsburgh Pirates players San Francisco Giants players Kentucky Wildcats baseball players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Lake County Captains players Lynchburg Hillcats players Glendale Desert Dogs players Akron RubberDucks players Columbus Clippers players Fort Scott Greyhounds baseball players Indianapolis Indians players Sacramento River Cats players Wisconsin Woodchucks players