When I was younger, I had a certain fondness for Nomo -- you know, when he was with the Dodgers. I've got absolutely no clue why, in retrospect, but there was something about him that made me fond of him, and, I think, aside from Robin Ventura, he's the first player whose name I learned.

 

Now he's absolutely horrible. I saw him pitch, and there was -- I felt -- a sadness in his eyes, as if he's, you know, sad that he went from being good to being crap. But I was wondering -- am I just confused, and because I was young, something superficial made me think he was good, or was he good years ago but horrible now?

i believe he was v. good

very good at k's if i recall.

but he doesnt have a spot on the returning champs roster

i believe he was v. good

very good at k's if i recall.

but he doesnt have a spot on the returning champs roster

 

I know that. I acknowledged he's horrible now! I was only wondering about his past. I know he's got no real future in baseball.

I was a big Nomo fan back in the day. One, he was the first Japanese player to have an impact in the majors. Two, he had the funky "tornado" like delivery that made him very fun to watch. I still can't believe he through a no-hitter at Coors.

I was a big Nomo fan back in the day.  One,  he was the first Japanese player to have an impact in the majors.  Two,  he had the funky "tornado" like delivery that made him very fun to watch.  I still can't believe he through a no-hitter at Coors.

That's a major accomplishment right there, throwing a no-hitter a Coors.

he had an up and down career in the majors. throwinf two no hitters in a pretty big thing. I did feel bad for him, i think he's close to calling it quits.

IIRC, his fastball used to top out at 91-93. That pretty much made his splitter look like it fell off the table. Now he runs it up there around 83-85 and he is just meat. It is a sad situation, but the guy obviously feels like he has a little left and wants to make an effort to make a team. I cannot fault him for that.

 

He isnt going to make the team though(I hope).

Yeah I think his "tornado" formation was the key to his success at the begining of his career here in the USA. I do give him credit for having 2 no hitters though, he's in very select company having a no hitter in both leagues.

His rookie year (95) was his best.

Below are his #s and (league rank)

2.54 ERA (2)

150 ERA+ (2)

1.056 WHIP (2)

5.83 Hits/9IP (1)

11.10 K/9IP (1)

236 strikeouts (1)

4 complete games (5)

3 shutouts (1)

3.03 K/BB (7)

 

He always walked a lot of batters, even in 95 he was 2nd in Walks and 1st in Wild pitches.

Okay, it's good to know that he didn't always suck and it wasn't just my imagination.