The Almost-Forgotten Year Hideo Nomo Spent with the Brewers

[Jason Wang]

Hideo Nomo is an important, sometimes misunderstood figure in baseball history. While he’s most often remembered for his time with the Dodgers, he also had a productive year with an equally fun and even more popular team: the Milwaukee Brewers.

Image courtesy of © Milwaukee Journal Sentinel files, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC

With Shohei Ohtani’s record-breaking free agency contract still the hottest piece of discussion within the baseball zeitgeist, it can be easy to forget the man who opened the door for future Japanese MLB players. Let's defy that temptation.

Hideo Nomo signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995, becoming the first Japanese-born player to pursue a long-term career in American baseball. Known for his vexing “tornado-style” delivery, he pitched spectacularly in his rookie year, posting a 2.54 ERA over 191 ⅓ innings, winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award, and placing fourth in Cy Young voting. He also pitched four complete games and three shutouts, led the NL in strikeouts (236) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.1), and led MLB in hits per nine frames with 5.8. He continued his success in 1996, again placing fourth in Cy Young voting and somehow throwing a no-hitter in Coors Field. He's still the only player to do so. 

As batters gradually became familiar with his funky delivery, his performance gradually declined. In 1997 and 1998, his performance slipped to below-average, and seeing their window of opportunity closing, the Dodgers traded him to the Mets--who released him on the eve of Opening Day, 1999. Nomo signed with the Cubs just a few days later, but they didn't elect to bring him up. Instead, they cut him loose again, this time in late April.

As a last-ditch effort to resurrect what was an immensely promising career just a few years earlier, Nomo signed with the Brewers. While many believed that he was absolutely done, Milwaukee didn’t really have much to lose. 

Long-time fans know that the Brewers of the late 1990s and early 2000s were far from World Series contenders. They were actually experiencing a years-long playoff drought. That ‘99 team was definitely one of the worst teams in MLB, posting a 74-87 record and placing dead last in their division. In fact, an LA Times article published on April 30, 1999 said, "The pitching-thin Brewers are believed to be the only team willing to guarantee Nomo big league starts."

Despite his diminished abilities, he was actually the fifth-most valuable member of the team by rWAR, accumulating 2.4. He recorded a 4.54 ERA and 1.42 WHIP over 176 ⅓ innings, which wasn’t spectacular by any means, but he did manage to record his 1,000th career strikeout while a Brewer, becoming the third-fastest player to do so. This, alone, earns him his spot on the Brewers Mount Rushmore, alongside fellow legends Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Nyjer Morgan Tony Plush. 

While his lone season with the team was productive, he wasn’t able to re-sign due to contract disputes, a recurring theme throughout his career. Nonetheless, he continued to make history, throwing his second no-hitter while on the Boston Red Sox in 2001, becoming the fourth man to throw a no-hitter in both leagues. He also led the AL in strikeouts and strikeout rate that year, the first time he had done so since his rookie showing. 

Nomo’s decision to leave home and bring his novel flavor of Japanese baseball would inspire future superstars like Ichiro Suzuki, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Hideki Matsui to follow a similar path, each leaving their own unique marks on the sport. While you’d be hard pressed to find people that own his jersey or even remember his time with the Brew Crew, it’s groovy to think that the Brewers had such an important figure on their team, one whose impact is still felt today.

Oh yeah, he also hit an absolute moonshot against the Brewers one time, so maybe he doesn't belong on the Mount Rushmore.

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[Frisbee Slider]

Also, Jim Abbott in 1999.

Not a lot of out-getters on that team.

[Michael Trzinski]

LMAO at the Tony Plush Mount Rushmore comment lol

 

[CheeseheadInQC]

Man, a lot of the K rates on that year’s staff would make Brent Suter look like Josh Hader. Nomo’s resurgence was definitely fun to watch, though.

[Jack]

I can't believe that no-one has even mentioned that Nomo put on a racing sausage costume, and ran in the sausage race during a game!  😂