He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, and Kansas City Royals.
[2] He attended El Dorado High School in Placentia, California, and was a letter winner in basketball and baseball.
At Florida Southern, Tomko led the team to the NCAA Division II National Championship against Georgia College.
In addition, he won both the NCAA Division II Pitcher and Player of the Year Awards by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
[9][10] He moved quickly through the Reds minor league system, debuting for the Charleston AlleyCats in Single-A that same year and pitching to a 1.89 ERA in nine games.
[11] He moved up to Triple-A, pitching to a 2.95 ERA in 10 starts for the Indianapolis Indians, before getting called up to the Major Leagues.
[19] On February 10, 2000, Tomko was traded to the Seattle Mariners, along with Antonio Pérez, Jake Meyer, and Mike Cameron, for Ken Griffey Jr.[20] He did not make the team out of spring training that year, due to dealing with a sore Achilles tendon.
[21] Tomko finally made his Mariners debut on April 22, allowing one run on four hits while striking out seven in six innings of work.
[28] On December 11, 2001, the Mariners traded Tomko (along with Ramón Vázquez, Tom Lampkin and cash) to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Wascar Serrano, Alex Arias and Ben Davis.
On December 21, 2005, he agreed to a two-year contract worth a reported $8.7 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Tomko started the last game of the season, with the Padres needing a win to clinch the National League Wild Card.
[46] This resulted in the 2007 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game against the Colorado Rockies, which the Padres lost in 13 innings.
[51][52] On February 13, 2009, the New York Yankees signed Tomko to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
[57] Tomko criticized the Yankees for not using him enough, despite his excellent spring training and minor league numbers, and said his 5.25 ERA was due to a lack of use.
[64][65] On February 19, 2011, the Texas Rangers signed Tomko to a minor league contract with no invitation to spring training.
[74] On August 24, Tomko was called up to Triple-A and helped the Reno Aces capture the 2012 Pacific Coast League championship.
[75][76] In March 2013, Tomko signed a contract with the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
[78] In November 2013, Tomko signed with Leones del Eascogido in the Dominican Professional Baseball League.
In 2016, Tomko played for the Kansas Stars, a team of former Major League players formed by Nate Robertson and Adam LaRoche to participate in the National Baseball Congress World Series.
[87] In 2022, Tomko joined USA Baseball and served as a pitching coach for the 16U/17U National Team Development Program.
[89] Tomko married Playboy Playmate Julia Schultz (February 1998) in November 2003,[90] and they have twin boys.
[92] In 1970, Tomko's father won a contest to name the new NBA expansion team based on Cleveland.
His entry described the name Cavaliers as "a group of daring, fearless men whose life's pact was never surrender, no matter what the odds.