No Mo’ Nomo!

In case you missed it this week, Hideo Nomo decided to hang it up at 39 years old. After a two year absence from the Majors, Nomo attempted a comeback with the Kansas City Royals and after three relief appearances was released. In honor of his retirement, Seamheads presents 10* things you might not have known about Hideo Nomo:

1. Hideo Nomo was the first Japanese-born Japanese Leaguer to play in the Majors since Masanori Murakami played for the San Francisco Giants in 1964 and 1965. Nomo made his debut in 1995 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. According to Baseball-Reference, there have been 44 Japanese-born players in the Major Leagues. Some say that if there was no Nomo, that number of 44 may have never been reached.

2. Nomo did not have a Hall of Fame career but he did have a Hall of Fame birthday. Born on August 31, Nomo shares his birthday with three other Hall of Famers — Eddie Plank, Ray Dandridge and Frank Robinson. In addition, Tim Raines was also born on August 31 and might someday grace the walls of the Hall.

3. Nomo had a number of major accomplishments during his career, some of which will be mentioned on this list. He allowed 251 home runs in his career and the first home run he gave up in his Major League career was to pitcher Bill Swift in his second Major League start. It was Swift’s only home run of his seven-year career.

4. Nomo played for seven different franchises at the Major League level. He played with the Los Angeles Dodgers (twice), New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Kansas City Royals. What is more unusual are the four teams he was a member of but never played for at the Major League level. He was a member of the White Sox for three months and one day in 2006 and played for their Triple-A team, the Charlotte Knights. He was a Yankee for two and a half months in 2005 and played for the Columbus Clippers at the Triple-A level. Nomo started three games with the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A during the 22 days he was a member of the Chicago Cubs franchise in 1999. Finally, Nomo was claimed off of waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies on October 28, 1999 and granted free agency one day later after contract issues.

5. During his time in the Majors, Hideo played with 407 different players. Currently, 142 active players can all claim Nomo as a one-time teammate. However, to date only one of those players have actually made the Hall of Fame — Eddie Murray. Murray and Nomo played on the Dodgers in 1997.

6. During his professional career in Japan and the United States, Nomo won 201 games (123 in the Major League and 78 in Japan). Currently, his 123 wins are the most amongst Japanese-born players. The next closest is Tomokazu Ohka who won 50 games from 1999 to 2007.

7. Nomo was the Rookie of the Year as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995. He went 13-6 with a 2.54 ERA, finished fourth in Cy Young voting and was selected to pitch in the All-Star Game. The Rookie of the Year Award began in 1947 and during the 61 years it was awarded, a member of the Dodgers franchise won it 16 times — the most of any team in baseball history. When Nomo won it, he was the fourth consecutive Dodger to win the award and 15 ^th player in team history to win it. The next season, Todd Hollandsworth of the Dodgers became the fifth consecutive member of the Dodgers to win the award. No one from the Dodgers has won the award since Hollandsworth in 1996. Nomo was also the first Japanese player to win the Rookie of the Year Award, followed by Kazuhiro Sasaki in 2000 and Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.

8. During his career, Nomo pitched against all 30 Major League franchises and picked up a win against every team in the Majors with the exception of one. Although he started against them twice, Nomo never beat his original team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his first start against the Dodgers as a Met on August 3, 1998, Nomo left the game after six innings with a 5-2 lead but reliever Greg McMichael gave up five unearned runs in the seventh and the Mets eventually lost 8-5. A year later, as a Brewer, he got a second chance but lost after giving up six runs (five earned) in six innings in an 8-4 loss on August 23.

9. Nomo was one of 25 pitchers in the history of baseball to throw two no- hitters and one of four pitchers to throw a no-hitter in both the American and National League. Nomo, Cy Young, Jim Bunning and Nolan Ryan are the only pitchers in the history of the game to throw a no-hitter in both leagues. He threw his first no hitter at Coors Field on September 17, 1996 against the Colorado Rockies as a member of the Dodgers and his second one at Camden Yards on April 4, 2001 against the Baltimore Orioles as a member of the Red Sox.

10. Nomo also was one of three players to lead both the American and National League in strikeouts. Nomo, Randy Johnson and Nolan Ryan were the only three to ever accomplish such a feat. During his rookie year in 1995, the man with the tornado delivery struck out 236 — 43 more than John Smoltz who finished second — to lead the National League in strikeouts. Six years later, as a member of the Red Sox, Nomo struck out 220 — six more than Mike Mussina of the Yankees — to lead the American League in strikeouts. No wonder Nike named a shoe — the Air Max Nomo — after him.