Hideo Nomo's MLB debut in 1995 sparked 'Nomomania' as he pitched five shutout innings against the Giants. His unique pitching style is expected to attract fans and revive interest in baseball.
Key points
Hideo Nomo debuted in MLB in 1995
He pitched five shutout innings against the Giants
Three decades before Shohei Ohtani's arrival ushered in a new era, 'Nomomania' captivated the baseball world. This article, 'Rising Son' by Gordon Verrell, originally appeared in the May 15, 1995 issue of The Sporting News.
Peter Magowan was as curious as anyone about how Hideo Nomo would handle it.
Magowan is the owner of the same Giants club that had put Masanori Murakami on the mound in 1964-65, the only other time a Japanese-born player appeared in the majors. When Nomo held the Giants to one hit in five shutout innings in his historic debut last week, it was clear to Magowan that the Dodgers have an answer to the sweeping fan malaise.
“Absolutely, I think he's going to be a draw,” Magowan says. “Maybe not the way Fernando (Valenzuela) was, but he's definitely going be a draw. Not just because he's Japanese, but because he's got such a unique and colorful way of pitching that it's going to draw attention. People will see him on TV and want to see him in person.”
Nomo, 26, looked very much like a major league pitcher in his first week, at least in terms of results.
He showed the fascinated Giants why he had averaged just under nine strikeouts a game and won 18, 17, 18 and 17 games his first four seasons in the Pacific League. Nomo's fastball against the Giants was clocked at between 89 and 92 mph, and he showed them an effective forkball and occasional curve.
In his follow-up start Sunday at Colorado, Nomo also looked like most other major league pitchers. Facing a potent lineup and light air, he was battered for seven runs on nine hits (three homers) in 4 innings of a no-decision.
Q&A
What was significant about Hideo Nomo's MLB debut in 1995?
Hideo Nomo's debut was significant as he pitched five shutout innings against the Giants, marking a historic moment for Japanese players in Major League Baseball.
How did MLB owners react to Hideo Nomo's performance?
MLB owners, like Peter Magowan of the Giants, believed Nomo's unique pitching style would attract fans and revitalize interest in the game.
What is 'Nomomania' and why did it emerge?
'Nomomania' emerged as a cultural phenomenon in baseball, driven by Hideo Nomo's unique pitching style and his status as a Japanese player in the majors.
How does Hideo Nomo compare to other famous pitchers like Fernando Valenzuela?
While Peter Magowan noted that Nomo may not draw fans in the same way as Fernando Valenzuela did, he still expected Nomo's pitching to attract significant attention.
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The tornado warnings around Denver just before the start of Sunday's game were fitting for a pitcher known in Japan as The Tornado. He was called that because of his pitching mechanics, which are reminiscent of Luis Tiant and Gene Garber.
At the top of his delivery, his arms extend high above his head. His back is arched. Then he suddenly coils, his back turned toward the plate, his left foot pointing toward second base, his eyes directed away from the batter. “When he starts his delivery to the plate,” Giants slugger Matt Williams says, “that's when you set your timing. Everything else is insignificant.”
If Nomo has half the success that Valenzuela had as a rookie in 1981, then perhaps some degree of Nomomania will break out at Dodger Stadium. That's why Dodgers President Peter O'Malley gave Nomo a $2-million signing bonus in February, continuing a tradition in the O'Malley family. Walter, the Dodgers' former owner, used to preach about international baseball, several times taking his teams on postseason goodwill tours of Japan, even going so far as to suggest that one day there would be a true World Series.
Peter has played an active role in helping to develop baseball in China, Korea, Nicaragua and Australia, among other lands, and the Dodgers' starting rotation is a testament to that international approach. Tom Candiotti is the only U.S.-born member of a rotation that includes two Dominicans (Pedro Astacio and Ramon Martinez), a Mexican (Ismael Valdez) and Nomo.
He's everything they built him up to be.
- Dusty Baker
Candiotti is used to having a unique perspective — he is the only surviving established knuckleballer — but even he can't imagine what Nomo is going through.
“Think about what he's doing,” Candiotti says. “He's out here with all these Japanese news people chasing after him all spring, he can't speak the (English) language, he's trying to become a part of the team, he's representing an entire country, everyone's counting on him ... well, I just told him, through his interpreter, to go out there and give it his best, that he's got the respect of everyone here.”
He certainly had the respect of the Giants. “He's everything they built him up to be,” says their manager, Dusty Baker. “He had the advantage of scouting reports on our hitters, but he's got good enough stuff to get people out the second and third time around."
Nomo's first week was documented by a huge Japanese media contingent. Cameras were stationed behind pitcher and catcher before his debut at Candlestick — to see warmups. "This was a very, very big start," says Isao Shibata, a former Japanese star center fielder who was at that debut with a Japanese TV network. "How he performs shows how far Japanese baseball has come. By him being successful, it will open the door to Japanese people. Who knows, maybe now there will be a second Nomo or a third Nomo.”
Seibu Lions slugger Kazuhiro Ki-hara also gave Nomo high marks: “He's throwing those pitches with everything he's got. If the American batters hit them, there's not much you can do.”
Also watching back in Japan for the 4:30 a.m. telecast from San Francisco was a Japanese commentator named Murakami, who said of Nomo, “My heart was pumping for him.”
The next look probably will come against the Cardinals. Nomo is expected to start this homestand, which begins with a three-game series this weekend against St. Louis.
Will it look like Fernandomania? One of the many Japanese media members who followed Nomo to Colorado last week asked me if this compares to those days of 1981, and I told him it doesn't. Not yet, anyway.
Valenzuela threw a shutout in his first home game and then strung zeroes.
But there's a great anticipation brewing, because Nomo obviously can pitch. And he sounds just like a major league pitcher. “I tried to keep the ball low,” he told his interpreter through the rocky outing in Colorado's new Coors Field Sunday, which nevertheless ended in a Dodgers victory. “I know how much power (the Rockies) have. (But) when a team wins, I'm happy. I want to let the people know I can compete at this level.”
