4B
Thursday, September 19, 1996
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Allsport Photo Service
Hideo Nomo pitched a no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies Tuesday night at Coors Field. Although Nomo is modest about his achievement, Japanese fans see him as a hero.
Dodgers hero throws no-hitter
The Associated Press
TOKYO — Video Nomo may have sounded modest about pitching a no-hitter against the National League's top hitting team in a stadium known as being tough on pitchers.
There was no such restraint back home in Japan.
“This is a historical moment," Osamu Shiraishi, 36, said of Tuesday night's game. "I think that it will serve as an inspiration for young Japanese baseball players."
As with all games featuring Nomo, the 9-0 Los Angeles victory against Denver was broadcast live in Japan via satellite television. Because of the time difference, the game ended at 3 p.m. Wednesday, allowing crowds to gather around giant TV screens in electronics shops and downtown shopping districts.
Masami Hase, a 37-year-old office worker who watched some of the game in the glitzy Ginza area, said Nomo "doesn't talk much, but I think he's a good ambassador. I think Japanese are proud to see him doing so well."
Nomo, 28, quickly became a sensation in the major leagues after quitting Japan's Kintetsu Buffaloes and signing with the Dodgers following the 1994 season.
Japanese fans have been following his career closely and were overjoyed when he was chosen as starting pitcher in last year's All Star Game.
"To go to the United States on his
own without knowing English and still be doing so well is really terrific," said Akira Murata, a company employee who heard the game on the radio.
"His fast ball is getting a lot better," said Murata, who was reading an early edition of the Nikkan Sports newspaper. "He must be gaining confidence."
Nomo became the first Japanese man to break into the U.S. major leagues in decades and is viewed on both sides of the Pacific as a kind of goodwill ambassador between two different cultures that happen to share a love for baseball.
"It seems like he was carrying all of Japan on his shoulders while he was pitching," said Kazuyuki Yoshikawa, a 31-year-old company employee. "He was surrounded by very good people who took him in as one of their own."
Nomo, whose first name means "hero" in Japanese, has achieved widespread fame in his home country and has appeared in numerous advertising campaigns.
A current campaign for a brand of canned coffee is offering 300 winners of a baseball trivia quiz a trip to Dogs stadium to see Nomo in action.
Major League teams race for pennants and series title
The softspoken Nomo didn't take a hero's pose, however, in discussing whether he had thought a no-hitter could be thrown at Coors Field.
"I cannot say it was impossible." he said. "I was never concerned about it."
Bv Jim Litke
AP sportswriter
CHICAGO — Maybe the best thing about the Cleveland Indians' sprint to another American League Central title is that it's finished. Any more races with this little suspense and baseball could run out of fans before it runs out of contenders.
Only two games separated the Indians from the Chicago White Sox at the All-Star break, but by the time Tuesday night rolled around, the margin had swelled to 11. After watching the Indians pop Chicago 9-4, then pop everything from champagne corks to beer-can tabs in the very town where their biggest threat was supposed to materialize, it seemed suspicious that the White Sox had stayed even that close.
"I don't think we had it in for anybody in particular," Cleveland outfielder Kenny Lofton said, "But some of their guys talked a lot of stuff early in the year."
He paused to chug from a bottle of champagne, then spray some passing teammates with what was left. The hat on his head was soaked, the bill cocked to one side. Lofton con-
sideder the question again. A grin played at the corners of his mouth.
reah, well, maybe a little," he added. "Maybe it is a little bit sweeter that we ended up clinching it here."
Nowhere else was there anything close to that kind of finality Tuesday night, which is a good thing for the game.
For the next month or so, while the NBA remains a vague memory, while the NFL sorts out plot lines and college football confines its hysteria to Saturday, baseball has center stage pretty much to itself. A good divisional chase here, a good pennant race there, a great World Series and maybe the game ends its year with a nice little buzz. Maybe.
With something like 15 percent of its pre-strike audience still turned off and labor negotiations dragging on once more, what the players and owners had better remember is that the most memorable things are supposed to happen ON the field. On this night, at least, some of them did, thanks in large part to Dodgers import Hideo Nomo.
Nomo threw a no-no against the Rockies that would have been special under any circumstances. To mention just two, it came against the National League's best-hitting lineup in what just might be its worst pitcher's park. But the story gets better. This no-hitter will enjoy a shelf life longer than most no-hitters, and not just because of the opposition and where it took place.
No, what made this one something worth preserving is that it came in the stretch run of a divisional race, on a night when Los Angeles' ballplayers and fans looked at a scoreboard and saw trouble brewing up the California coast.
For most of the night, the Dodgers' closest rivals, the San Diego Padres, were hammering the Giants at San Francisco. The deficit grew as large as six runs before the Giants roared back to win, and Barry Bonds breaking a tie with a two-run homer in the eighth. By the time Nomo put the finishing touches on his masterpiece, an entire city put its head on the pillow with a 1 1/2-game cushion between its Dodgers and the Padres.
None of the remaining AL contenders, meanwhile, had nearly as
restful a night. The Texas Rangers were sleepless in Seattle after losing again and watching their lead against the Mariners shrink to four games.
Their only consolation may be that a game came off the calendar. But the worrywarts in New York didn't have even that much after the start of a long-awaited series with Baltimore was rained out.
As a result, a controversy was brewing in the Bronx concerning whether to make up the game as part of a day-night doubleheader, which means the Yankees could charge separate admissions, or as a twi-nighter.
Stay tuned. In the meantime, however, it became clear that everybody in town remained on edge: Instead of complaining about the weather, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner complained that AL president Gene Budig wasn't around to get drenched as well. The game was in the bottom of the first when play was halted. Umpire crew chief Joe Brinkman called it 2 hours, 45 minutes later.
"I think," Steinbrenner said, "he has to get his priorities straight."
Mariners dwindle Rangers' lead to 4 in AL West
Bv Jim Cour
The Associated Press
SEATTLEN — The Seattle Mariners have turned up the heat, and the Texas Rangers are starting to sweat.
"They could leave town only two up," the Mariners' Mark Whiten said of the Rangers. "Then I think it would come down to which team plays the best baseball the final week."
Trailing Texas by nine games on Sept. 11, the Mariners cut the Rangers' dwindling lead in the American League West to four Tuesday night, winning 5-2. It was Seattle's sixth consecutive win and Texas' sixth loss in seven games.
They played again last night before the series finale in the Kingdome on Thursday afternoon. A four-game sweep by Seattle left the Mariners two down with 11 to go.
"Right now, I think we're a little tight," said Rangers pitcher Ken Hill.
After Terry Mulholland lost his bid for a perfect game when Texas scored two runs in the top of the sixth, the Mariners came back to get four off Hill in the bottom half.
Dave Hollins, a late-season pickup from Minnesota, sent Seattle ahead 3-2 with a two-run single.
Shortstop Kevin Elster dropped Jay Buhner's grounder, leading to two unearned runs. Third baseman Dean Palmer's throwing error allowed the Mariners to score their first two runs in a 6-0 win Monday night.
A year ago, the Mariners overcame a 12 1/2-game deficit on Aug. 20 to catch the California Angels and win their first division championship.
Mulholland made his 10th start for Seattle since being acquired from Philadelphia. He has made a quick study of his new teammates.
"We're playing very relaxed baseball right now, and we're having fun," Mulholland said. "Guys are loose because we don't have anything to lose here. We have every
"Guys are loose because we don't have anything to lose here. We have everything to gain."
Terry Mulholland Rangers pitcher
thing to gain."
dung given At 21, Mariners shortstop Alex Rodriguez has every reason to feel the pressure. However, the AL's leading hitter at .366 is calm and cool.
"All the pressure is in the Rangers' clubhouse," he said.
The difference may be the managers. Lou Piniella has played in the cauldron of Yankee Stadium and managed the Cincinnati Reds to a World Series sweep against Oakland in 1990. He was also in Cincinnati for last season's playoff drive.
Maybe Johnny Oates, the reticent Texas manager, wants too much to get his Rangers into the postseason for the first time. Maybe the Rangers are losing the psychological battle before they step on the field.
"This Seattle club is a club that you can't give them a crack," Oates said. "You leave the door open a crack, and they will come rushing in."
The Rangers have Juan Gonzalez, who may be the AL Most Valuable Player with 44 home runs and 136 RBL. However, they didn't have the experience of playing the Angels in a one-game playoff for the division title last season or the experience of playing the Yankees in the playoffs or playing the Cleveland Indians in the postseason.
"Experience helps, no question," Piniella said.
The Etc. Shop
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The Abyss
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Kansan Classifieds get results. Fast!
Informal Recreation
Informal Recreation is a program designed to allow student to participate in activities with limited structure and rules. With little emphasis on competition, participants can concentrate on enjoying themselves rather than worrying about winning. So bring your friends and get involved in that sport you have always wanted to try or the sport you haven't done in a while.
Basketball
215A Rob.
209/210 Rob.
215A Rob.
215A Rob.
Tuesday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
8:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
12:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
1:00 p.m-10:30 p.m.
3:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
Tuesday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
*Volleyball
8:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
7:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
1:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
3:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
215B Rob.
215B Rob.
215B Rob.
215B Rob.
*Table Tennis/Badminton/Pickleball
Tuesday 8:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
Friday 12:30 p.m-7:00 p.m.
Saturday 4:00 p.m-7:00 p.m.
211/212 Rob.
211/212 Rob.
211/212 Rob.
1:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
1:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
1:00 p.m-10:30 p.m.
Wallyball
Racq. Crt. #11
Racq. Crt. #11
Racq. Crt. #11
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Climbing
Tuesday/Thursday
Saturday/Sunday
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3:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. 207 Rob.
These times are good through Wednesday, October 2, 1996. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the Recreation Services staff in 208 Robinson or call 864-3546.
MOON FESTIVAL
Dancing Party
Saturday, Sept. 21 8-12 p.m.
Burge Union Frontier Room
member $2 non-member $4
moon cake, drinks and FUN
Everyone is welcome!
Everyone is welcome! sponsored by the Chinese Student Association
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Open 24 hours everyday. Commerce Place Laundromat.
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