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Hideo Nomo

1968-

Japanese baseball player

Pitcher Hideo Nomo, nicknamed "Tatsumaki" (the Tornado) for his unusual windup delivery, was the first Japanese major league baseball player to join the American major leagues. After playing four years with Japan's Kintetsu Buffaloes, he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers, in 1995. He was voted Rookie of the Year with the Dodgers and led the National League in strikeouts. Already popular in Japan, Nomo became a superstar during his first year with the Dodgers, drawing thousands of Asian fans to Dodger games. He reached the 1,000 career strikeout mark faster than any other player in the history of Japanese professional baseball. Nomo is only the fourth pitcher to have pitched no-hitters in both the National League and the American League, joining Hall of Famers Cy Young, Jim Bunning, and Nolan Ryan.

Super Tornado

Hideo (pronounced He DAY oh) Nomo was born August 31, 1968, in Osaka, Japan, the oldest son of Shizuo (a postal worker) and Kayoko Nomo. The name "Hideo" means "a superman" in Japanese. The American sport of

baseball was extremely popular in Japan, and many Japanese boys aspired to be major league ballplayers. Nomo graduated from Seijyo Kogyo High School in 1986, where he developed his unusual pitching windup resembling a whirling tornado. In 1988 he pitched for the Japanese team that brought home the Olympic silver medal from Seoul, South Korea.

Nomo, 6'2" and 210 lbs., was drafted by the Kintetsu Buffaloes in the Japanese Pacific League in the first round of the 1989 free-agent draft. In his first season, 1990, he led the Pacific League in wins and strikeouts, a pattern he would repeat for three consecutive years. He won Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in 1990, finishing the season 18-8, with an earned run average (ERA) of 2.91.

Nomo won Japan's equivalent of the Cy Young Award for the league's best pitcher, the Sawamura Award. His teammates gave him the nickname "Tatsumaki" (the Tornado) for his unique pitching windup that confuses and terrorizes batters. A right-handed pitcher, Nomo first raises his arms slowly, high over his head, and arches his back. Then he turns to put his back toward the plate, with his left foot pointing toward second base. He pauses and then whirls, releasing a 90-mile-per-hour fastball or forkball, his trademark pitches.

Nomo was considered one of Japan's best pitchers, but a dream to play in the American major leagues was kindled when he pitched 1-1 against a U.S. All-Star team on tour in Japan. After a salary dispute with the Buffaloes in 1994 and an arm injury that some thought would permanently reduce his effectiveness, Nomo was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers on February 8, 1995, with a $2 million bonus. He became the first professional Japanese player to join an American major league team and only the second Japanese player to play in the American major leagues.

L.A. Dodger, Japanese Superstar

When Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda saw Nomo pitch, he told his coaches, "Don't touch a thing with this kid's motion or his delivery. The batter doesn't know what he's doing out there, but he does." Nomo himself, speaking through a translator because he speaks little English, told People in 1995 that he does not know how he developed his windup. "I just wanted to pitch," he said. "Every part came naturally."

After signing with the Dodgers, Nomo became a superstar in Japan. Asian fans came to Dodger games in record numbers, and busloads of Japanese tourists arrived to watch their hero play or to buy Nomo memorabilia. When Nomo was named starting pitcher for the All-Star Game in 1995, some fifteen million people watched the televised game in Japan. The pressure on him was great, but Nomo told his fans, "I will not disappoint." In 1995 he won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, even though he had played professional baseball in Japan.

On September 17, 1996, Nomo made baseball history by pitching a no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies at their Coors Field, known as a hitter's paradise. Nomo was the first Dodger pitcher to strike out more than 200 batters in his first two seasons. In 1997, however, batters began to catch on to his delivery, and his record and ERA dropped to 14-12 and 4.25. Late in the season he was hit in the elbow with a ball and had arthroscopic surgery to remove bone fragments. In mid-1998, the Dodgers revamped their team and traded Nomo to the New York Mets.

Traveling Years

His fastball dropping to about 86 miles per hour, Nomo finished his year with the Mets 6-12, with a 4.92 ERA. In March 1999, Nomo asked to be released from the team. One week later, he was signed by the Chicago Cubs, who traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers after just two outings. Nomo's pitching improved in Milwaukee, and the team offered him a two-year contract, but he instead signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers. He finished 8-12 and in 2001 signed a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox.

The highlight of his year with Boston came on April 4, 2001, when he pitched his second no-hitter, against the Baltimore Orioles. Nomo became the fourth player to pitch no-hitters in both the National and the American Leagues.

Return to the Dodgers

In December 2001 the Dodgers signed their former pitcher to a new two-year contract. With a total ERA of 3.39 for the 2002 season, Nomo made a comeback with the Dodgers. His drive to stay on the mound in spite of difficulties during a game led his teammates to nickname him "The Warrior" for his fighting spirit.

Hideo Nomo is known for his calm, almost otherworldly ability to concentrate while on the pitcher's mound. He has proved quite capable of carrying the burden of great expectations and has maintained his dream to play in the American major leagues. By signing with the American majors, Nomo paved the way for other Japanese baseball players to join U.S. teams, including Ichiro Suzuki, Kazuhiro Sasaki, and Shigeki Maruyama.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: c/o Los Angeles Dodgers, Dodger Stadium, 1000 Elysian Park Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Email: fanfeedback@dodgers.mlb.com. Online: http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Newsmakers, Issue 2. "Hideo Nomo." Detroit: Gale Group, 1996.

Periodicals

Dougherty, Steve. "Tornado Watch: Dodger Ace Hideo Nomo Comes from Japan, but His Fastball Is Making It Big in the U.S.A." People (July 17, 1995): 103.

Schmuck, Peter. "Mets Take a Risk on Nomo, but It's One Worth Taking." Sporting News (June 15, 1998): 30.

Other

Baseball-Reference.com. "Hideo Nomo." http://www.baseball-reference.com/ (December 14, 2002).

Green, Adam. "Hideo Nomo." BaseballLibrary.com. http://www.pubdim.net/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/ (November 27, 2002).

Los Angeles Dodgers Web Site. "Hideo Nomo." http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/ (November 27, 2002).

McAdam, Sean. "Nomo's No-Hitter Lifts Red Sox's Spirits." ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/mcadam_sean (December 14, 2002).

Morris, Sarah. "Sarah's Take: Hideo Nomo." Dodgers.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/ (November 27, 2002).

Whicker, Mark. "Nomo's Second Time with Dodgers as Good as the First." Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. (September 16, 2002).

Sketch by Ann H. Shurgin