Hideo Nomo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hideo Nomo 野茂 英雄
Nomo with the Columbus Clippers in 2005
Pitcher
Born: (1968-08-31) 31 August 1968 (age 56) Osaka, Japan
Batted: Right Threw: Right
Professional debut
NPB: April 10, 1990, for the Kintetsu Buffaloes
MLB: May 2, 1995, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Last appearance
NPB: 1994, for the Kintetsu Buffaloes
MLB: April 18, 2008, for the Kansas City Royals
NPB statistics
Win–loss record	78–46
Earned run average	3.15
Strikeouts	1,204
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	123–109
Earned run average	4.24
Strikeouts	1,918
Teams
Kintetsu Buffaloes (1990–1994) Los Angeles Dodgers (1995–1998) New York Mets (1998) Milwaukee Brewers (1999) Detroit Tigers (2000) Boston Red Sox (2001) Los Angeles Dodgers (2002–2004) Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2005) Kansas City Royals (2008)
Career highlights and awards
NPB 5× NPB All-Star (1990-1994) Pacific League MVP (1990) Eiji Sawamura Award (1990) Triple Crown (1990) Pacific League Rookie of the Year (1990) Best Nine Award (1990) MLB All-Star (1995) NL Rookie of the Year (1995) 2× Strikeout leader (1995, 2001) Pitched two career no-hitters (1996, 2001)
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	2014
Medals Men's baseball Representing  Japan Olympic Games Silver 1988 Seoul Team Asian Baseball Championship Gold 1989 Seoul Team Intercontinental Cup Silver 1989 San Juan Team

Hideo Nomo (野茂 英雄, Nomo Hideo, born 31 August 1968) is a famous Japanese former baseball pitcher. He played in both Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan and Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States.

Nomo first became a star in Japan with the Kintetsu Buffaloes from 1990 to 1994. He then found a way to leave his contract and became the first Japanese baseball player to move permanently to MLB in the United States. He started playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995. Many people say Nomo helped open the door for many other Japanese players to join MLB because he was such a big star.

Nomo played for 13 seasons in the American major leagues with eight different teams. He retired in 2008. In 1995, he won the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award. He was also chosen as an MLB All-Star. He led MLB in strikeouts twice and threw two no-hitters. One of his no-hitters was the first ever at Coors Field, a stadium known for being hard to pitch in. In 2014, Nomo was added to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

Early Life and Baseball Dreams

Hideo Nomo was born in Minato-ku, Osaka, Japan, on August 31, 1968. His dad was a fisherman and postal worker, and his mom worked part-time at a supermarket. When he was young, Nomo was quiet but loved baseball very much.

He created his unique "corkscrew" pitching style to impress his dad when they played catch. He thought that turning his back to the target would help him throw the ball faster. Nomo finished high school in Osaka. He was about 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed about 200 pounds.

He was not chosen in the Nippon Professional Baseball draft because he sometimes had trouble controlling his pitches. Instead, in 1988, Nomo joined an industrial league team called Shin-Nittetsu Sakai. To improve his forkball grip, Nomo would sleep with a tennis ball taped between his fingers.

Professional Baseball Career

Nomo improved his forkball and his pitching control while playing in the industrial league. In 1988, he played for the Japanese baseball team at the 1988 Summer Olympics. His team won a silver medal.

Playing for the Kintetsu Buffaloes

The Kintetsu Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) picked Nomo in their draft in 1989. He started playing for them in 1990 and was an instant success. He won 18 games and lost 8. He also struck out an amazing 287 batters in 235 innings.

His unusual pitching style helped him get so many strikeouts. He would turn his back to the batter, lift his front leg, and pause before throwing. This made his pitches faster and harder for batters to see. This special windup earned him the nickname "Tornado." Nomo won the Triple Crown that year, which means he led the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average.

For his first four seasons, Nomo was one of the best pitchers in Japanese baseball. He won 17 or 18 games each year. In his fifth season in 1994, he had a shoulder injury and only won eight games. Nomo's forkball was famous for being hard for both hitters and catchers to predict.

Nomo became one of the most popular baseball players in Japan. But after the 1994 season, he had a disagreement with his team about his contract. The Buffaloes did not want him to have an agent or a multi-year contract. Nomo's agent, Don Nomura, found a special rule in the Japanese player contract. This rule allowed a player who retired to play for any team they wanted after coming back to play. This rule helped Nomo move to the U.S. In February 1995, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed him.

Joining the Los Angeles Dodgers

Nomo played his first U.S. professional baseball game on April 27, 1995. After playing for a month in the minor leagues, he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers. On May 2, he became the first Japanese-born Major Leaguer to play in a game since Masanori Murakami in 1965. Nomo was also the first Japanese player to move permanently to the American major leagues.

There was a lot of pressure on Nomo. Japanese news and fans came in large numbers to watch his games. Nomo's games were often shown live in Japan, even though it was early morning there.

His "tornado" pitching style confused batters in the major leagues just like it did in Japan. In 1995, he led the league in strikeouts. He also had a great ERA of 2.54. He struck out more than 11 batters per 9 innings, breaking a Dodgers team record. He also started the All-Star Game that year. Nomo was named the NL Rookie of the Year, beating out future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones.

Nomo had another great season in 1996. On September 17, he threw a no-hitter in Denver's Coors Field. This was very surprising because Coors Field is known for being a very easy place for hitters to get hits. Nomo's no-hitter is still the only one ever thrown at Coors Field.

As batters started to get used to his pitching style, his performance dropped a little in 1997. However, he still won 14 games and lost 12. He became one of only two pitchers to strike out at least 200 batters in each of their first three seasons.

Moving Between Teams (1998–2000)

Nomo did not pitch well in 1998 and was traded to the New York Mets. His performance did not get better, and he was released that season. In 1999, he signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. He won 12 games and lost 8 with them. He reached 1,000 strikeouts in 1999, which was the third fastest in major league history. After some contract issues, he was released again. He then signed with the Detroit Tigers in 2000, where he won 8 games and lost 12 before being released again.

Success with the Boston Red Sox (2001–2003)

Nomo signed with the Boston Red Sox in 2001. He started the season in an amazing way by throwing his second no-hitter in his first game with the Red Sox. This happened on April 4 against the Baltimore Orioles. This no-hitter was the first in the 10-year history of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Nomo also became only the fourth player in baseball history to throw a no-hitter in both the National League and American League. He also led the league in strikeouts that year.

After the year ended, Nomo returned to the Dodgers in 2002. He had one of his best seasons since 1996, winning 16 games and striking out 193 batters. The next year, he had another strong season, winning 16 games. However, in September 2003, he started to show signs of injury and tiredness.

Later Career and Retirement (2004–2008)

Nomo pitching for Tampa Bay in 2005

Nomo began to struggle again in 2004 after having shoulder surgery. He was taken out of the starting lineup after winning only 4 games and losing 11.

In 2005, he signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He was released in July after a poor start. He then signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees, but he never played for their main team. In 2006, he signed with the Chicago White Sox to play for their minor league team, but he was released again.

In 2007, Nomo played in the Venezuelan Winter League. This was seen as a step towards him trying to return to Major League Baseball. In 2008, Nomo signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals. He played his first major league game since 2005 on April 10. He was released by the Royals on April 29. On July 17, Nomo officially retired from Major League Baseball.

Nomo won 123 games in the Major Leagues and 78 games in Japan. He won his 200th overall game on June 15, 2005. Nomo's success helped inspire other Japanese stars like Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui to come play in the United States. Nomo is also one of only five players to pitch at least one no-hitter in both the National League and American League. He has thrown the only no-hitters at Oriole Park at Camden Yards and at Coors Field.

Life After Playing Baseball

Nomo was chosen for the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. He was one of the few players to be selected in their very first year of being eligible. At that time, he was also the youngest player ever chosen for that Hall of Fame.

Before the 2016 season, the San Diego Padres hired Nomo as an Advisor for Baseball Operations. His job was to help the team develop players and find new talent around the world.

Nomo's Unique Pitching Style

Nomo threw a fastball that could reach 95 miles per hour. His main other pitch was a forkball.

He was famous for his special pitching windup, which was called "The Tornado." He would slowly raise his arms high above his head. Then, he would lift his front leg and twist his body until his back faced home plate. After that, he would quickly throw the ball towards the plate. He used the same arm speed for all his pitches, which made it hard for batters to know what was coming.

See also

In Spanish: Hideo Nomo para niños