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By Tim Dierkes [July 17, 2008 at 11:09am CST]
Pitcher Hideo Nomo has retired, according to the AP (hat tip to NPB Tracker).
Nomo won 78 games in Japan in five seasons, and then exploited a loophole and retired from Japanese baseball. He was a phenomenon in '95, coming over as a free agent to win the ROY with the Dodgers as a 26 year-old. He ended up winning 123 big league games.
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Should it really be called a retirement when no team had any interest in him?
Posted by: cmac1973 | July 17, 2008 at 11:29 AM
He won ROY over Chipper Jones. In hindsight, I definitely think it was a bad choice.
Posted by: LOSTlover | July 17, 2008 at 11:50 AM
There are plenty of ROY's that seem like bad choices in retrospect, in comparison. That and the fact that no team wanted him this year shouldn't negate the fact that he deserves kudos for a great career. He pitched a no-hitter at Coors Field for crying out loud. So far, and with the possible exception of Ichiro, no Japanese player has come close to having the kind of long solid career that Nomo had.
Posted by: Craig Phillips | July 17, 2008 at 12:58 PM
I got to tip my hat and salute to Nomo for a great career. Nomo pitched for my Sox and threw a no-no.
Posted by: manny24 | July 17, 2008 at 05:45 PM
"He won ROY over Chipper Jones. In hindsight, I definitely think it was a bad choice."
Why? The ROY is based on that one year, not your whole career. Nomo was the second best starting pitcher in the NL that year, behind Maddux, and even started the All-Star Game. The only better AL pitcher was Randy Johnson. Jones, while he had an excellent season, didn't have nearly the same impact.
Posted by: AA | July 17, 2008 at 06:14 PM