Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 10, 1995 TAG: 9511100087
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
``I proved to people that America has opportunity,'' Nomo said Thursday after edging Atlanta's Chipper Jones and becoming the first Japanese player to win a major U.S. baseball award.
``This is not only in Japan,'' Nomo said. ``If a young talent, a young prospect, would like to get that chance and opportunity, they are welcome to come and should follow me.''
Nomo, the fourth consecutive Los Angeles Dodger to win the award, received 18 first-place votes, nine seconds and one third for 118 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Jones had 10 first-place votes and 18 seconds for 104 points.
``He had a tough, tough assignment, coming into a league he knew absolutely nothing about and yet being in a glass case,'' said Tommy Lasorda, the Dodgers' manager. ``Everybody was watching him, every game he pitched was televised back to Tokyo. He was under a tremendous strain to accomplish what he did.''
Nomo, 27, is the second Japanese player in the majors, following Masanori Murakami, who pitched for San Francisco in 1964. In Japan, Nomo was a five-time All-Star and the top rookie in 1990. Five years later, he has another rookie honor.
``I never compared those prizes,'' he said through an interpreter during a conference call from Tokyo.
Nomo retired from Japan's Pacific League following the 1994 season and signed with the Dodgers as a free agent. He went 13-6 with a 2.54 ERA and led the NL with 236 strikeouts in 1911/3 innings. He was the NL starter in the All-Star Game.
Nomo is the 15th Dodgers player to win the award, the eighth under Lasorda, and follows Eric Karros, Mike Piazza and Raul Mondesi. The Dodgers also won four in a row from 1979-82: Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela and Steve Sax.
He isn't the oldest player to win. Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball's racial barrier, was 28 when he won in 1947, also with the Dodgers.
Nomo signed a minor-league contract with the Dodgers on Feb.13. He made his major-league debut May 2, pitching five scoreless innings against San Francisco. He got his first victory June 2 against the New York Mets. Twelve days later, he struck out 16 against Pittsburgh, setting a Dodgers rookie record. That began a four-game stretch in which he fanned 50.
Jones, the starting third baseman for the World Series champions, may have had better statistics: a .265 average, 23 homers and 86 RBI. But Nomo seized the spotlight by winning seven consecutive decisions from June 2 through July 15.
Nomo's starts were televised on giant video screens in 13 Japanese cities. A credit association in Osaka raised interest rates on some saving accounts by one-thousandth of a percent for each of his strikeouts.
He had a 0.89 ERA in June and was the NL player of the month. He had consecutive shutouts against the Giants on June 24 and Colorado on June 29.
He probably lost some votes by tailing off. He was 0-2 from Sept.1 on with a 4.06 ERA.
His goal now is to get the prize Jones won - a World Series ring. He's happy with the way his former teammates have treated him.
``When I came back to Japan, they accepted me,'' he said. ``They're cheering me again, they welcomed me.''
by CNB