Remembering how Hideo Nomo’s journey to MLB opened the door for Japanese players

With baseball on hiatus, fans should explore ESPN’s 30 for 30 podcasts and the story of how Hideo Nomo’s boundary-breaking journey to MLB came to be.

ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentaries are a thrill to watch. Since 2016, there’s been a podcast version of the hit series as well. With baseball on hiatus, one episode baseball fans would enjoy goes back to the nineties, telling the story about Hideo Nomo’s successful attempt at joining MLB.

Hideo Nomo‘s journey to North America is an interesting story. But, it’s no secret that Japanese baseball players have thrived in MLB. Ichiro, Hideki Matsui, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Masahiro Tanaka, and Shohei Ohtani are among the few who took their careers to North America. What’s even more interesting, is the one who opened the door for those players to achieve that opportunity.

Nomo took baseball by storm as a 22-year old pitcher playing for the Kintetsu Buffaloes. The Osaka native led Nippon Professional Baseball in strikeouts, and he would win Rookie of the Year and MVP honors along the way.

Nomo came up with a very unusual pitching delivery. By twisting his body, and turning his back to hitters, he would whip back around, all towards the batter.

Even before the former Olympian took to the mound in North America, Japanese players were banned from coming to the major leagues. Not one player dared to challenge the system. Japanese teams had total control over a player’s destiny.

Soon enough, Nomo’s dream would be to pitch in the major leagues. One reason the dream was unbelievable was the story of Masanori Murakami.

Back in the sixties, teams in NPB sent prospects to the United States to develop in the minor leagues. Murakami was one of those players who was a promising pitcher for the Nankai Hawks. Eventually, he was called up to the San Francisco Giants in September 1964.

Once the season ended, the Giants sent the Nankai Hawks a check for $10,000, and they felt double-crossed. They believed that the Giants were supposed to help the Hawks develop players, not try to take them away.

It didn’t make the situation any better for Murakami. He was labeled as a greedy traitor by the media, eventually returning to Japan in 1966. That’s when Japanese and Americans came up with the “Working Agreement” where both sides would keep their hands off of each other’s players.

By 1994, the Kintetsu Buffaloes, hired Keishi Suzuki, a Hall of Famer who’s philosophy was working pitchers until their arms fell off. Nomo would soon have enough, he wanted out of Japanese baseball.

But the question was, how?

It was only a matter of time before Don Nomura, the renegade agent, and Nomo, the frustrated pitcher found each other.  Together, the pair read the US-Japan Working Agreement. To their surprise, they discovered that the language banning Japanese players from going to MLB only applied to active players.

Surprisingly, Japanese players were tied to a draconian contract. Essentially, it’s a translated version of a decades-old American contract. It was one that gave team owners almost complete control.

In the contract, they soon found out that Nomo would have to be placed on a so-called voluntarily retired list. Getting on that list wasn’t so easy, but Don’s idea of agitating the club soon came along. The agent told his client to demand a massive amount of money in a six-year contract worth $30 million.

In November 1994, the agent and pitching phenom showed up at the Kintetsu Buffaloes offices in Osaka.  Yasuo Maeda, the team president, was not about to be pushed around after what he saw. He told Nomura to leave, which he did. About an hour later, Nomo told him about the contract, and the president wasn’t very pleased.

Team executives tabled negotiations and a month later, the pair came back to the offices in Osaka, with the same demands. Nomo’s threat of early retirement was an insult to the executive’s face. They had no idea their prized pitcher was playing them.

The club was left with an ultimatum, either pay him thirty million or lose him, and they chose to lose him. It would be a matter of time before Nomo officially announced that he had retired from NPB. But, many people were quick to point the finger at his agent. Regardless of the media blasting both Nomo and Nomura, the pitcher insisted on playing in North America.

Just one problem…

In August 1994 MLB suffered a lockout, as players fought with team owners over revenue sharing and a proposed salary cap. Luckily, one of Nomo’s hidden strengths was tuning out distractions. He would immediately turn his focus on finding a new place to call home. By February 1995 Nomura and Nomo were sitting in the office Peter O’Malley, owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

O’Malley frequently visited Japan, having a deep respect for the culture. The pitcher’s fascination with the owner as well as a desire to play for the Dodgers was a match made in heaven. On February 13, Nomo was officially introduced by the franchise. A few weeks later, commissioner Bud Selig announced an end to the longest work stoppage in MLB history.

After a brief stint in the minors, Nomo finally got his chance to play in the major leagues on May 2. The tornado delivery proved to be a benefit for the pitcher, but he failed to record a decision in his first five starts. By the end of the season, Nomo went on to lead the league in strikeouts, win the NL Rookie of the Year award, and help the Dodgers win the NL West division title. Plus, his 2.54 ERA was second-best in the league that season.

Nomo would go on to pitch in the major leagues for eight different teams over a 13 season career, retiring in 2008. Six years after hanging up the glove, he was elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

As Nomomania took off, the Japanese media suddenly changed their attitude towards him. They made up every excuse in the book, and after a little while, the media ran out of things to say, giving him well-deserved credit and respect.

Players no longer have to endure the intense criticism Nomo faced years ago. Today, fans expect their team’s best players to one day represent Japan and prove themselves in MLB. Nomo’s success paved the way for other Japanese players.