Hideo Nomo was a paradoxical player in many ways. His distinctive tornado style windup is unforgettable, and his forkball, when working properly, was one of the nastiest pitches in all of baseball. Strikeouts were his specialty, and he averaged 203 Ks per 162 game season. Besides his talent for making batters whiff, however, Nomo was in many ways an average or worse pitcher. He walked a lot of batters, gave up a high number of home runs, and was always among the league leaders in wild pitches. His slow delivery, so effective at confusing batters, made him easy pickings for base stealers, who often ran wild if they reached base.Nomo had one of the most up and down careers of any athlete in my memory. His first season was clearly his best, as he was NL Rookie of the Year and the starting pitcher for the NL All-Star Game. That year he was 13-6 with an era of 2.36, era+ of 150, 3 shutouts, and struck out an amazing 236 batters in just 191 innings. He never equaled this success, but for the next two years he continued to be productive, fanning at least 200 batters each year. He had a poor 1998, being traded midseason to the Mets. He bounced around, playing for three teams in three years before making his way back to the Dodgers. He actually had a few more good years with the Blue before injuries and age caught up again. His 2003 season was his worst, in which he went 4-11 with an 8.25 era. This is the worst era in baseball history for a pitcher with at least 15 decisions. Nomo was eventually cut loose again, joined the lowly Devil Rays for another poor season, sat out two more with injuries before attempting a short lived comeback with the also lowly Royals. Which brings us to today, when I saw the announcement of his retirement scrolling across the bottom of the ESPN ticker.
Nomo's high points include his ROY, All-Star start, a 17 strikeout game, a one-hitter and two no hitters, including the only no hitter thrown at the incredibly hitter friendly Coors field. I still remember watching that game and being in awe, as I so often was by his performance. Nomo was a huge fan favorite in Los Angeles. I was an 11 year old Dodger fanatic in 1995 I embraced "NomoMania" as strongly as anyone. He was our secret weapon, our whirling dervish who mystified batters with his amazing stuff, a perfect sequel to the "FernandoMania" of the 1980s.
His fame spanned the mighty Pacific, as he became a national hero in Japan as well as a sensation here in the States. Throngs of Japanese nationals would fly to Los Angeles on tours booked especially around attending one of Nomo's starts. We always got a kick when they would jump to their feet with a mighty cry of "Bonzai" or something like it whenever he sent another hitter packing. The previously low key Dodger Stadium added sushi vendors to the ranks of their peanut and beer hawkers. Mike Piazza became a celebrity in Japan simply for being Nomo's catcher. It was more than just baseball, it was a big wasabi infused party and we all loved it.
My favorite memory of Nomo was a game I attented in early 1997. It was the Dodgers' home opener against the powerhouse Atlanta Braves. Hideo was matched against Hall of Famer Tom Glavine, and it was a true pitchers duel. Glavine was great, giving up only 5 hits and a single run on a slash single, but that's all the help Nomo would need. He was masterful, throwing a 3 hit shutout which was secured by an acrobatic catch in the outfield, and for a teenage Dodger fan playing hooky from school it was a great day.
One of the interesting things about Nomo is the counterfactual his career presents. Nomo came to America at the age of 26 after pitching five great years in the Japanese professional leagues. As I said before, most of his career stats are fairly mediocre. His OPS+ is a slightly below average 97, and he had an ok but not great .530 winning percentage in the Major Leagues. However, he still managed almost 2000 strikeouts despite a career significantly shortened by injury and his late arrival in America. I can only wonder how his career composite might look had he played those extra seasons here in America.
Supposing he had played 4 of those seasons here and performed at his youthful levels, he would likely have added 800 or more Ks to his career totals. His era and win totals would certainly have been much more impressive. Perhaps with a little better injury luck combined with those lost, youthful years, we'd be looking at a 200+ game winner with 3000+ strikeouts. At this point there are probably a lot of baseball fans who think I'm nuts for proposing that Hideo Nomo could have had a borderline HOF career. Again, its just a counterfactual, and dammit this is one of my childhood heroes, so cut me some slack.
Whatever his stats, Nomo's real legacy is how he opened the door for Japanese and other Asian baseball stars to come to the states and play in the Major Leagues. While he wasn't the first Japanese pro to come over to the states, he was the first several generations and his success made the idea of signing Japanese players intriguing to Major League teams. Ichiro, Fukudome, Kaz, Dice K and several others owe a debt of gratitude to Nomo for paving the way, as do we fans who so enjoy watching the best players play in our leagues. So Arigato to you Nomo-san, my next Sake Bomb will be dedicated to your honor.
Update: apparently I'm not the only one with a tribute to Nomo-san. Except theirs is funnier.
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