New Strike Zone Helped in Nomo’s No-Hitter

Hideo Nomo tested the new strike zone in major league baseball on Wednesday night in Baltimore, and pitched a no-hitter.

The man nicknamed “The Tornado” brought more deception than heat in throwing baseball’s first no-hitter of the 2001 season in the Boston Red Sox’s 3-0 win against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

If there was anyone on the Boston staff who was going to throw a no-hitter, many thought it would be ace Pedro Martinez in Monday’s season opener.

“I was nervous,” Martinez said. “I know what it’s like to be in that situation. And the worst part was I couldn’t do anything about it. To me, it felt worse than if I were the one pitching.”

Nomo was all over the plate, but he got a lot of high strikes. His inside stuff wasn’t bad either. He left the Orioles confused and wondering where the new strike zone is.

The umpire seemed a little confused too.

“It helped me tonight,” Nomo, a native of Tokyo, said through a translator. “That high fastball did help me.”

Nomo, who usually works high anyway, was mixing his pitches well.

“There were some high strikes called, but it’s going to be an ongoing adjustment for everyone,” Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek said. “His location and change of speed is why he was successful.”

Nomo’s no-hitter was the first at Camden Yards. He had three walks and 11 strikeouts.

“The umpire didn’t give Nomo his no-hitter,” Oriole Manager Mike Hargrove said. “He went out and threw strikes and stayed ahead of us. He was ahead of a lot of hitters all night long. He went out and threw strikes, and his splitter was very effective.”

The news was received well in Japan, where fans now have several players to follow, including Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners and Tsuyoshi Shinjo of the New York Mets.

“Seeing this, I realize my country isn’t ready for the garbage heap just yet,” said Hiroyuki Miyazaki, a 28-year-old Tokyo cook who bought an extra edition touting Nomo’s no-hitter that was published by a popular sports newspaper. “[Nomo] makes me proud to be Japanese.”

Nomo became the fourth pitcher in major league history to throw a no-hitter in each league, joining Hall of Famers Cy Young, Jim Bunning and Nolan Ryan.

Nomo pitched a no-hitter for the Dodgers at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 17, 1996. He was dropped from the roster by the Dodgers on June 1, 1998, after demanding a trade when he had a 2-7 record and a 5.05 earned-run average.