It wasn't hard to see this day coming when the Royals designated him for assignment in April but it's still worth noting that Hideo Nomo officially hung up the spikes today. He made the announcement via his web site in a bit of syntax that either lost something in the translation to English or reveals Nomo as some kind of experimental poet. "Retiring. July 17, 2008. I announced my retirement from my playing career."Nomo's brief 2008 season showed that he had nothing left to offer at the big league level and it's been quite a while since he's been a good pitcher, none of that should overshadow a very solid big league career. He threw two no-hitters, in 1995 with the Dodgers and in 2001 with the Red Sox, and won the 1995 NL Rookie of the Year. He led the NL and AL in strikeouts once each and finishes with a U.S. record of 123-109. Of course all that came after Nomo won 78 games as a member of the Kinetsu Buffaloes which is why he's so memorable.
Nomo's arrival to the Dodgers ushered in a new era for the major leagues. You need only look at Tuesday's All-Star Game which featured Japanese players in each league's starting lineup for proof of how Nomo's early success changed the way teams look for players.
