Former Phillie of the Day - Tadahito Iguchi

Shohei Ohtani is absolutely ridiculous. He pitches. He flirts with no-hitters and throws 100 mph. He mashes long-distance home runs. And he's 23 years old. He's the latest Japanese player to take MLB by storm. Masanori Murakami was the first to play in the U.S. when he joined the San Francisco Giants in 1964.

Today's former Phillie of the Day is Tadahito Iguchi, the first Japanese player to play for the Phils. Iguchi was acquired from the White Sox in July 2007 after Chase Utley suffered a broken hand when he was hit by a pitch. Iguchi was in a tough spot filling in for the wildly popular Utley, who was having his best season.

But Iguchi played really well and hit .304 in 45 games for the Phillies. He had hits in 13 of his first 14 games and reached base in each of his first 14 games. His contributions helped the Phils in their furious comeback in the National League East. With 17 games left in the season, the Phils trailed the New York Mets by 7 games. The Phillies overtook the Mets and won the division for the first time since 1993.

He was released by the Phillies after the season and signed with the San Diego Padres. Iguchi returned to the Phillies in September 2008, but he was out of MLB after the season.

Iguchi returned to play in Japan and retired in 2017. This season, he's manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines. He's the first Japanese MLB veteran to manage a team in his home country.