This is the sports department, not the business section but this is to advise that we have a Japanese import who is thrilling the nations, both ours and his. He is Hideo Nomo, a 26-year-old right-handed power pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers who has won his last three starts.
But here’s the exciting stat: 75 strikeouts in 57 innings, 11.9 K’s for every nine innings, better even than Nolan Ryan, who averaged 11.5 in 1987.
How good is Nomo? It’s too early for a knowledgeable assessment, but in Pittsburgh last Wednesday he had 16 strikeouts, most ever by a Dodgers rookie, and after the game, Jay Bell, the Pirates’ All-Star shortstop, was asked:
Does he remind you of anyone? Can you make a comparison?
“Sure,” Bell replied. “He reminds me of Cy Young.”
Bell was jesting, course. But you get the idea.
Nomo, 6 feet 2 and 210 pounds, has a corkscrew delivery, similar to Luis Tiant, the onetime Boston star. Like Tiant, he has a convoluted windup and a high kick, and turns his head toward center field an instant before delivery. The only difference is that Tiant was essentially a sidearmer. Nomo comes in over the top.
Nomo doesn’t speak English. He speaks to the press through an interpreter. But Tommy Lasorda, the Dodgers’ manager, baseball’s No. 1 ambassador, here and abroad, insists this is not a problem. Lasorda is fluent in three languages–Italian, Spanish and English.
“No, make that four,” said Lasorda who is here with the Dodgers. Lasorda laughed. “I just did a commercial and I did it in French.”
Lasorda and Dave Wallace, the Dodgers’ new pitching coach, don’t speak Japanese but have no trouble getting their messages across. Said Lasorda, “You can communicate with someone without exchanging words.”
For example, Nomo was throwing high in his first three starts, which is understandable. In Japan, the umpires call the high strike. Wallace went to the mound, and waved his hands at the knees. Nomo immediately understood. He since has been trying to keep his pitches below the belt.
According to Joe Amalfitano, the Dodgers’ third base coach, Nomo is a fast learner.
“He’s very intelligent,” Amalfitano said. “And he has good aptitude and retention.”
Amalfitano explained that he is constantly reviewing the offensive signs with all the players–for the bunt, the slap bunt, hit-and-run and squeeze:
“After the third time he had this look on his face: `Here comes this guy again.’ And I realized he understood the signs. I didn’t know what to say. It’s just a habit with me. I do it all the time. I wasn’t insulting his intelligence.”
Then Amalfitano added: “I don’t review the signs with him anymore.”
Nomo is picking up English with the help of teammate Ismael Valdez. They have become best friends. Valdez, born in Mexico, says Nomo’s vocabulary is more than adequate.
“He knows all the words about baseball,” said the 21-year old Valdez. “I ask him a lot of baseball questions. He knows a lot of things about the game. He’s older than I am.”
The general perception is that Nomo is a baseball novice, an apprentice who dropped from the sky. Not true. This is his sixth year as a professional. In 1990, his first season, he not only was the Rookie of the Year in Japan’s Pacific League but also won the Most Valuable Player award.
Nomo has been compared to Masanori Murakami, a left-handed pitcher, previously the only Japanese-born player to appear in the big leagues. Murakami was with the San Francisco Giants for two seasons, 1964-65, neither productive. He made only one start and departed with a career 5-1 record.
But there is a considerable difference. When Murakami arrived, he was 20, virtually without professional experience. The Giants invited him to their spring training camp. It was, in effect, a tryout. To everyone’s surprise Murakami made the club.
Unlike today, Japan was not eager to export. The Japanese government ordered Murakami to return to his homeland, fearful others also would defect to America. Murakami returned but was never more than a journeyman pitcher.
In four of his five seasons in Japan, Nomo led the Pacific League in wins and strikeouts. The Dodgers gave him a $2 million signing bonus, outbidding five other big league clubs, including the Yankees.
Using all my linguistic powers, I walked over to Nomo. He was sitting at his locker. And in an effort to cross the language barrier, I said, “Filet mignon.”
He responded with a smile. But I’m certain he understood.
