Thomas Patrick O'Malley (born December 25, 1960) is a former Major League baseball player born in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

, and raised in

Montoursville, Pennsylvania Montoursville is a borough in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. The 2020 census reported its population as 4,745. It forms part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Williamsport Regional Airport is in Montoursville. ...

in the United States. He played for the

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 Y ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, Texas Rangers,

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

, and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. He also spent six highly successful seasons in the Japanese

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

with the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

and

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

. He also worked as a manager for the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball after retiring.

Biography

O'Malley was drafted by the

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, and made his major league debut with the Giants in 1982. He played in 135 major league games in 1983, but split time with the majors and minors afterwards, spending nine years playing for six different teams. He was acquired by the Orioles from the Tigers for Luis Rosado on May 23, 1985.Justice, Richard. "O'Malley's Hit in 10th Wins for Orioles, 2-1," ''The Washington Post'', Wednesday, June 25, 1986.
Retrieved January 24, 2023. He was signed by the

in , and immediately became the regular third baseman for the team. He won the

golden glove award in , and led the league in on-base-percentage from 1992 to 1995, averaging 20 HRs and a batting average over .300 each season. He introduced

Jim Paciorek James Joseph Paciorek (born June 7, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played first base, third base, and outfield for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He also played with the Yokohama Taiyo Whales ...

to the Tigers in 1992, and managed to put the struggling Tigers in second place that year. O'Malley won the batting title in , but left the Tigers in after having issues with manager

Katsuhiro Nakamura was a professional Japanese baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally ...

. He was quickly picked up by the

in , and played his best season that year, hitting 31 home runs with 87 RBIs and a .307 batting average. The Swallows won the Japan Series that year, and O'Malley was awarded both the season MVP award, and the Japan Series MVP award. He hit .300 for the sixth season in a row in , (a record among non-Japanese players in the Japanese professional leagues) but split with the Swallows over contract obligations. He returned to the major leagues to spend spring training with the Texas Rangers, but retired after he was cut from the team. He managed the

from to after retiring. He returned to Japan during the

spring training camp, and served as a batting coach throughout the season. He was also a mentor for non-Japanese players, including

George Arias George Alberto Arias (born March 12, 1972) is a former baseball player in Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball. Career Arias was drafted by the California Angels in the seventh round of the 1993 Major League Baseball draft aft ...

, Jeff Williams, Trey Moore, and

Jerrod Riggan Jerrod Ashley Riggan (born May 16, 1974) is an American former professional baseball player. A pitcher, Riggan played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Amateur career Riggan played baseball and basketball at ...

, who contributed to the Tigers' championship in . O'Malley resigned from his coaching job after

Senichi Hoshino was a Nippon Professional Baseball player and manager. In 2003, he led the Hanshin Tigers to their first Central League pennant in 18 years before retiring for health reasons. In 2007, he managed the Japan national baseball team, Japanese natio ...

resigned from his managerial position. He scouted players in the major and minor leagues for the

until 2009, and traveled to Japan during spring training to offer advice to non-Japanese players. He has appeared in various television commercials in the local Kansai region ( Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd.), and posters featuring O'Malley could be found in

Koshien Stadium , commonly referred to as simply Koshien Stadium, is a baseball park located near Kobe in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments, and opened on August 1, 1924. It ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Omalley, Tom 1960 births Living people People from Orange, New Jersey Sportspeople from Essex County, New Jersey Major League Baseball third basemen Baseball players from New Jersey San Francisco Giants players Chicago White Sox players Baltimore Orioles players Texas Rangers players Montreal Expos players New York Mets players Nippon Professional Baseball infielders Hanshin Tigers players Yakult Swallows players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Nashville Sounds players Minor league baseball managers Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners Nippon Professional Baseball coaches Newark Bears players International League MVP award winners