For Frame After Frame, Nomo Clicks

Sunday was Camera Day and the Dodgers pitched Hideo Nomo.

Thousands of fans brought film and flashbulbs. Ken Fukuhara, Yonesuka Katsura and Masato Harada brought their TV cameras to broadcast the yakyu (baseball game) back to the National League Far East. Jumbo outdoor screens aired the NHK telecast live at 5 a.m. in downtown Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sendai, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Matsuyama and Hiroshima.

Vin Scully said, “OK, Scully, shut up!” at one point on his Los Angeles broadcast and cut away to his counterparts from Japan.

Nomo came to bat and blooped a single. Scully then took back control of his broadcast and called Nomo’s hit “a dunker,” the Japanese equivalent of which is anyone’s guess.

Yes, it was another day at the office for Nomo, who barely needs a first name any more. Just say Nomo and say no more.

The pitcher brought along a special guest, Shuzo Matsuoka, the tenisu player, who recently reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Shuzo is entered in the Infiniti tennis tournament this week at UCLA. Had he won Wimbledon, we could have had Shuzomania.

This start against Cincinnati was the first for Nomo since cracking a fingernail on his Jack McDowell finger. It didn’t seem to affect him. Maybe he bought a replacement from Lee’s Press-On Nails.

This was also Nomo’s first start since baseball’s “speed-up” rule went into effect.

Intent upon quickening the snail’s pace of the game, baseball now forbids pitchers to take longer than 12 seconds to deliver a pitch once a batter is set in the box, if no one is on base. Since no one usually is on base against Nomo, he shouldn’t have to worry.

Then again, that wind-up of his could use up 12 seconds right there.

“Hurry up, please,” in his language is “Isoide kudasai!” in case catcher Mike Piazza needs to know. Piazza was given a laminated card by the multilingual Stu Nahan of Channel 5 before Sunday’s game, with translations for such phrases as: “Concentrate hard,” “Throw low” and other useful expressions. Nothing, however, about Hal Fishman.

Nomo’s nail seemed to be no problem. He gave the Reds only five hits in eight innings. There must have been dancing in the street in Fukuoka.

Just to be safe, Nomo was removed after 97 pitches by Tom Lasorda, who normally lets his pitchers go, oh, 125, 150, 200, whatever. Todd Worrell worked a wobbly ninth and prevented an international incident.

“Every time you send Nomo out there, you expect a win and a complete game,” said Lasorda, who settled for one out of two.

The victory gave Nomo a record of 6-0 at Dodger Stadium, lifetime.

His legend keeps growing in this town, with “The Ballad of Hideo Nomo,” a new ballad sung and recorded by Hiroki and Saachiko Akagi, now available at music shops in Little Tokyo, with no offensive lyrics to concern Bob Dole.

When you hear it, you might recognize the tune. The song’s refrain is similar to Harry Belafonte’s familiar “Day-O, Day-Ay-O,” using Nomo’s name instead.

Should be a huge hit in the Caribbean.

The more than 53,000 who attended Sunday’s game thought Nomo looked great, and you know what they say: 50,000 Nomo fans can’t be wrong.

He began the second inning by striking out Ron Gant on a pitch that came in on one bounce, like a Shuzo Matsuoka tennis shot.

In the next inning, Nomo committed a balk. There was a time during spring training when the Dodgers feared that every Nomo delivery might be a balk.

But this was only his fifth.

Not many Cincinnati runners got on base for Nomo to balk along. The Reds looked very bad against the Japanese pitcher, but fortunately, Marge Schott was not available for comment.