(See what I did with the title)
After many seasons in the Land of The Rising Sun, Hideo Nomo set his sights on the United States and in his rookie season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he took the country and Major League Baseball by storm.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS (1995-1998)
Nomo entered MLB in 1995 with a lot of promise and delivered by leading the league in strikeouts and finishing second in ERA (2.54). He started the 1995 All-Star Game in Arlington, striking out three of the six batters he faced. Nomo would win the NL Rookie of the Year over future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones. The next season, Nomo was also stout (16-11, 3.19 ERA, 234 SO) and accomplished something that no pitcher has ever done since. He pitched a no-hitter in the thin air of Coors Field in Denver. In 1997, batters were beginning to figure out Nomo's tornado-like delivery as his numbers slipped a lot (14-12, 4.25 ERA, 233 SO). Unfortunately in 1998, Nomo's numbers were bad (2-7, 5.05 ERA, 73 SO) to the point that the Dodgers decided to trade him to the New York Mets.
NEW YORK METS (1998)
After the trade to New York, Nomo's numbers improved a hair (4-5, 4.82 ERA, 94 SO), but still not good enough to convince the Mets to commit to him long term as they released him.
CHICAGO CUBS (1999)
Nomo signed with the Cubs and made three starts for Iowa, the Cubs' Triple-A team. Chicago let him go, because of Nomo's refusal to make more starts in Iowa. See, this will start a trend here. Because of his success in Japan, Nomo was stubborn when it came to contract issues and going to Triple-A.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS (1999)
Nomo landed with the Brewers and he had a decent run (12-8, 4.54 ERA, 161 SO). His run would end abruptly after being waived due to a contract dispute. He was picked up by the Phillies, only to be let go not even 24 hours later due to, you guess it, A CONTRACT DISPUTE!
DETROIT TIGERS (2000)
The Tigers picked up what was left of Nomo and this was bad. Very bad. He and the team sucked. (8-12, 4.74 ERA, 181 SO). He was released.
BOSTON RED SOX (2001)
After the Red Sox signed him, Nomo had his comeback season. He led the league in strikeouts (220) and became the fourth player in history at the time to pitch a no-hitter in both leagues. What was more amazing is that he pitched that no-hitter in his Sox debut.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS (AGAIN) (2002-2004)
Bet you forgot Nomo played for the Dodgers during this time.....because I sure did. 2002 was, by far, Nomo's best season since his rookie year (16-6, 3.39 ERA, 193 SO) and it was a feel good moment for him and baseball. 2003 was not bad and he had his lowest ERA since his rookie season (3.09). There were signs of fatigue and age in this campaign, but nothing that the club would be worried about. 2004 was the year that it all unraveled for Hideo Nomo (4-11, 8.25 ERA, 54 SO, 42 BB) OUCH!
TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS (2005)
The D-Rays picked up Nomo for, let's face it, his last chance and this campaign was...tragic. (5-8, 7.24 ERA, 59 SO, 51 BB) Wow, only 8 more strikeouts than walks. YIKES! The Rays released him.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS (2008)
Nomo tried a comeback three years after the Rays' debacle and this was the final touches of a really interesting career. Final year stats: (3 games, 18.69 ERA, 3 SO, 4 BB). He would retire after this.
Looking back at Hideo Nomo's career and you're thinking, geez....it was a hell of a roller coaster. He was the player that made baseball interesting, especially when he arrived in 1995, the year after the crippling MLB strike. He didn't single-handlely bring fans back, but he gave them hope.....
(Sources: Baseball Reference, Wikipedia, MLB)
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