Isao Ojimi

Isao Ojimi was with the Seibu Lions farm system in 1976-1979 but never made it to Nippon Pro Baseball. In 1980-1984, he coached the USA Junior High School squad in USA-City, Oita. He studied in London, England from 1985-1989. From 1990-1994, he was an interpreter and bullpen catcher for the Daiei Hawks, then was an interpreter for the 1995 Chiba Lotte Marines, working with Bobby Valentine.

Ojimi became a scout with the New York Mets in 1997 and was promoted to Director of Pacific Rim Scouting in December 2003; as of 2009, he still held that job. He was involved in the signings of Masato Yoshii, Jae Seo, Jorge Toca, Tsuyoshi Shinjo, Satoru Komiyama, Kazuo Matsui, Dae-sung Koo, Timo Perez and Takashi Kashiwada.

Source: 2009 Mets Media Guide