Yoshiaki Oka

Yoshiaki Oka (岡 義朗)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 147 lb.

• High School Okayama Higashi Commercial High School

• Born November 22, 1953 in Tamano, Okayama Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yoshiaki Oka played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 9 years.

Oka was drafted by the Hiroshima Carp in the 5th round of the 1971 NPB draft, and he only got 4 at-bats combined in his first four seasons. He went 2-for-10 in 52 games in 1976, and he played 49 games with only one at-bat in 1978. He had a 3-for-20 record with 12 runs in 97 games in 1979 and he played 4 games as a defensive replacement in the 1979 Nippon Series; the Carp beat the Kintetsu Buffaloes in 7 games. Oka was then traded to the Nankai Hawks for Hisao Sugita, and he hit .250/.294/.250 in 49 games in 1980. He had a career-high 124 at-bats with a .216/.243/.315 batting line in 1981, but he only collected one hit in 13 at-bats in 78 games in 1982. He went 4-for-15 in 62 games in 1983, and the Hawks traded him to the Hanshin Tigers for cash. Oka played 27 games in 1984, and he announced his retirement. He was the fielding coach for the Carp from 1986 to 1989, for the Tigers from 1990 to 1995 and for the Orix Buffaloes from 1996 to 2003. He returned to the Carp as minor league fielding coach from 2004 to 2008, and he was the fielding coach of the Tigers from 2009 to 2011.

Overall, Oka hit .210/.256/.265 with 54 hits in 298 plate appearances over 518 games in 12 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan