Japanese Fans Happy Favorite Son Is Rising Again

“Sugoiiii!” hollered 10-year-old baseball fanatic Yuki Hirota. That’s Japanese for “Wow!” plus “Yippee!”

Hirota came home from elementary school Wednesday and heard the news that his hero, Hideo Nomo, had pitched a no-hitter Tuesday over the Colorado Rockies in Denver.

“Sugoi!” agreed commuter Katsuhiko Hayashi, 37, as he snatched up the evening edition of a sports tabloid that proclaimed Nomo’s triumph in a headline four inches high.

Surprised and elated, Japan once again cheered the native son who made it big in America but whose popularity had begun to fade back home after a somewhat lackluster season.

“He hasn’t been in the news so much lately,” said Yoshiharu Takahashi, a banker and baseball fan. “This is an unexpected comeback. Last year was an incredible year for him; he won 14 awards, and it’s just human nature, but if he doesn’t do better than that this year then people aren’t impressed.

“I really want him to do well.”

Nomo, 28, spent five years pitching for the Kintetsu Buffaloes before signing with the Dodgers in 1995. He became something of a cultural icon in Japan for having the guts to quit the authoritarian world of Japanese baseball and the talent to prevail on the American playing field.

But Nomo’s failure to make this year’s all-star team dented his pedestal. And the big baseball story in Japan this summer has been an unusually close contest between the Central and Pacific leagues. Nomo had more or less escaped the media spotlight--until he recaptured the admiration of his countrymen with his performance against the Rockies.

The game was broadcast live on Japanese satellite television, as is usual here whenever Nomo pitches. But none of the public stations showed the game, and few working people could have tuned in anyway, since the game ended about 3 p.m. local time.

Some devoted fans sneaked into satellite-wired restaurants or electronics shops to watch. Others caught the highlights on giant TV screens at Tokyo’s busiest intersections.

But since the Japanese media no longer make a special point of announcing every game Nomo is scheduled to pitch, most people were not even aware that he was on the mound until they left their offices and heard about the no-hitter.

“ ‘Nomo fever’ has declined since last year,” explained Akira Ikeda of the TBS independent television network. “Nomo has passed his news peak.”

By nightfall, however, the Sports Hochi newspaper had printed up a one-page special edition that was distributed free to commemorate the first American no-hitter for a Japanese pitcher. Word began to spread. Fans were ecstatic.

“When he was in Japan, he never pitched a no-hit, no-run, not even once,” said 10-year-old Hirota. “But he did it in America and in the majors. He’s a Japanese hero.”

Nomo may not be receiving as much media attention as he did last year, but his fans are as loyal as ever. They include some who ordinarily do not follow baseball closely but who are proud to see a Japanese excel at the most American of sports.

“I’m happy when he wins and unhappy when he loses,” said Kazunari Kobayashi, a 27-year office worker.

To Yashuharu Yamamoto, Nomo is not only a sports hero but also a successful rebel who challenged the need for the restrictions put on the individual by the group-worshiping Japanese society.

Yamamoto, a 37-year-old father of three baseball-loving sons, believes that the Kintetsu coaching system stifled Nomo’s natural talents. Nomo is flourishing in America because his individuality is respected there, he maintained.

“Nomo is our hope and our goal,” Yamamoto said. “For little kids, he’s proof that you can achieve your dreams. He fought to make his own way and I respect that. Nomo is the Japanese pioneer who has achieved the American dream.”

Some fans worry that Nomo’s example will entice other ambitious Japanese baseball players to defect to the United States. Already at least two other players--Katsuhiro Maeda of the Seibu Lions and Hideki Irabu of the Marines--are reportedly interested in plying their trade on the other side of the Pacific.

“It would be sad if all of the good players go to America and only the so-so ones stay in Japan,” Hayashi said.