Castle's triple play: Father to son to grandson
By Kyle Sakamoto
Advertiser Staff Writer
The upcoming Castle baseball season will be a family affair extending through three generations.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Joe Tom Jr. is in his 11th season as coach of the Knights. His father, Joe Tom Sr., is the pitching and batting coach, and son Jordan is the starting shortstop.
Three generations of the Tom family lead Castle High baseball. They are shortstop Jordan, 16; assistant coach Joe Sr., 74; and head coach Joe Jr., 44.
"As far as having my dad here, I wouldn't want to have it any other way," said Tom Jr., 44. "To me he's one of the best pitching and batting coaches ever. He's a big asset to our program."
Jordan, 16, was an O'ahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division second-team all-star last season at second base.
"Hopefully, he'll progress where he can play college baseball," said Tom Sr., 74. "He's hitting the ball well and is a good infielder."
When asked if playing for his his father is difficult, Jordan said: "He's a little tougher on me. He expects more."
Tom Sr., a baseball, basketball and football star at Farrington, overcame major health problems in the 1990s.
"I had heart surgery in '97, quadruple bypass," he said. "I also survived prostrate cancer in 1993."
Said Tom Jr.: "He's not only my dad, he's my best friend. We can talk professionally, as friends and as son-father."
Castle won the OIA East last year and placed third in the OIA championship tournament.
This season, Tom Jr. will have to replace 11 seniors, including top pitchers Reid Santos and Paul Collins.
The two returning starters are juniors and playing new positions. Jason Taniguchi moves from third base to catcher, and Jordan Tom from second to short.
"This is a major rebuilding year," Tom Jr. said. "It's the largest in my 11 years at Castle."
Kailua, the defending OIA champion, will be led by OIA East Coach of the Year Corey Ishigo.
"We're OK," said Ishigo, despite losing 10 players from last year's team.
The Surfriders' top players are seniors Mike Cathcart (center field), Travis Hayashida (shortstop) and Kawika Kekaula (third base/pitcher).
Kaiser, Kalani and Roosevelt should also be in contention.
Kaiser is led by seniors Nathan Ota (third base, outfield, pitcher) and Chris Gallego (catcher), and juniors Jason Peters (pitcher) and David Chu (shortstop).
Kalani has seniors Gert Koenigs (right field/pitcher) and Rodney Roque (pitcher/first base), and junior Grant Arakaki (second base).
Roosevelt's leading players are Chris Mols (junior, pitcher), Jason Yasuda (senior, pitcher), Corey Higa (junior, outfielder), Jonathan Higa (senior, outfielder) and Joey Shimabuku (senior, pitcher).
