Since I started reading baseball cards blogs and knowing a bit of the collectors' world I've known about Nomo's myth.
So, there is no surprise about him getting RotY award.
How did he after the award?
Nomo played for:
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)
Quite a lot of teams and almost 20 years playing baseball.
And with a few awards:
NPB
Pacific League MVP (1990)
Eiji Sawamura Award (1990)
Triple Crown (1990)
Pacific League Rookie of the Year (1990)
MLB
All-Star (1995)
NL Rookie of the Year (1995)
2× Strikeout leader (1995, 2001)
Threw two career no-hitters
It seems Nomo's first decade playing in MLB were the best for him. But it was enough to get him in the Japanese Hall of Fame.
The San Diego Padres hired Nomo as Advisor for Baseball Operations in 2016, so there's another team for the list.
ReplyDeleteI didn't named that because it was not as player that he joined Padres, but yeah. Being an Advisor is good too. You have to be pretty good to be one. I think.
DeleteI remember Nomo-mania back in the mid 90's and totally bought into it myself. In regards to Japanese ball players PC... Ichiro and Nomo are the two guys who make up a large chunk of that collection.
ReplyDeleteWell, I only could see Ichiro playing. Including for my Yankees. He was always a gentleman playing. Always a great moment to watch Ichiro at the plate.
Delete