THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 5, 1995 TAG: 9507050161
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
If baseball had any public relations savvy (which it does not), it would do everything possible to see to it that Hideo Nomo starts the All-Star Game.
To say that Nomo is just another bright light among a galaxy of star attractions is to mistake Godzilla for a garden lizard.
This season, the season of discontent, the most captivating player in America's so-called National Pastime happens to be Japanese.
Only baseball would miss the opportunity to exploit this development to the fullest.
Tell me that the Atlanta Braves' Greg Maddux deserves to start for the National League, and I'll point out that the All-Star Game is intended to be showbiz first, baseball second.
Baseball is about 20 years behind the NBA in understanding this simple concept. But if there were ever a time when baseball needed to put on its best show, it is now.
That means starting Nomo, the Nipponese righthander who anchors the Los Angeles Dodgers' pitching staff.
Speaking of pitchers, do you think people are going to drop everything to watch Tyler Green toil for the National League?
Or Carlos Perez? Or warhorses Tom Henke and Todd Worrell?
Even Maddux, Mr. Cy Young, is not going to light up the casual observer. Maddux is a great pitcher who has the charisma of a designated driver.
And then there is Denny Neagle, pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates. How many Denny Neagle fans do you think there are in TV Land?
For that matter, how many baseball fans are there?
According to a just-released Harris poll, interest in baseball is down about 33 percent from a year ago.
Last summer, Ken Griffey Jr., the Seattle Mariners centerfielder, pulled in six million All-Star votes from the fans. This season, there were not six million votes cast for all players combined.
If Nomo walked out to the mound on July 11th to start the game at The Ballpark in Arlington, Texas, this sort of fan disgust would give way to curiosity.
Americans, after all, have always been partial to Japanese imports.
Many baseball fans, loyal and lapsed, are only just now learning about Nomo. The 26-year-old is second to Maddux in earned run average, and leads the National League in strikeouts. But it's his extreme pitching style that rivets attention.
Nomo's ingenious delivery, the way he partially pirouettes before throwing to the plate, is maddening for hitters and fascinating to the rest of us.
Americans trust that Japan produces better automobiles and VCRs. Nomo makes us wonder if the forkball shouldn't be added to that list.
Without Nomo at center stage, designated as the National League starter, this could be just another tired spectacle of an All-Star Game.
Because free agents jump back and forth between leagues, the All-Star game has lost almost all of its competitive juices.
Players don't care about their leagues anymore; they care about their next contract. Is it any wonder the event lacks vitality?
Imagine, though, if the media had a week to hype Nomo's start against the American League. The radio squawk shows could chat it up. ESPN could milk it dry. From Pittsburgh to the Pacific Rim, baseball would have itself the makings of a great story.
Baseball could do something here to help itself. But, then, when was the last time baseball actually did something to help itself?
No bullpen should be big enough to hold Godzilla. Especially not at the All-Star Game.
Not in a season when more and more Americans are discovering that baseball is something they can live without. by CNB