Tony Torcato Tony Torcato Anthony Dale Torcato (born October 25, 1979 in Woodland, California) is a former professional baseball player. Torcato was drafted in the 1st round (19th overall) of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft by the San Francisco Giants. Before being drafted, Torcato signed a letter of intent to play college baseball at UNLV. He made his MLB debut on July 26, 2002 as the starting right fielder for the Giants against the Los Angeles Dodgers and singled to right field in his first at-bat off of the Dodgers Hideo Nomo. He played in parts of four seasons in Major
Hideo Nomo United States, he is often credited with opening the door for Japanese players in Major League Baseball, due to his star status. Nomo pitched over the span of 13 seasons in the American major leagues with 8 different teams, before retiring in . He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1995. He twice led the league in strikeouts and also threw two no-hitters. He was the only Japanese pitcher in Major League Baseball to throw a no-hitter until the Seattle Mariners' Hisashi Iwakuma did so on August 12, 2015 against the Baltimore Orioles. Nomo currently resides in Los