[todeen]

Originally Posted by packs

Nomo was good for a year or two but I think it's hard to argue that he paved the way for Japanese players. He was forgotten almost as soon as he got here but I'm also not sure that was totally his fault. A number of average, bad or forgettable pitchers came over after him and I would say watered down the excitement from Japan. These would include:

Hideki Irabu; Shigetoshi Hasegawa; Masato Yoshii; Tomo Ohka, etc.

I think we can agree that Ichiro broke the dam. But, while the few between Nomo and Ichiro weren't the best, Nomo certainly created a sense of yearning from scouts to find the next crossover star, not believing that Nomo was a unicorn. Certainly, Ichiro's stardom as a position player and great hitter opened paved the dirt road for Matsui and Ohtani...but Nomo opened the door for Ichiro.

And I don't believe Nomo was "forgotten almost as quickly as he arrived." My friends and I were trying to mimic his pitching style. And mimicry is the best form of flattery. Yesterday the kids were calling it the Johnny Cueto wiggle; but in 1995 it was known as the Nomo.