Hideo Nomo to active status. This led to him heading to the U.S., where in February 1995, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed him. Nomo made his U.S. pro baseball debut with the Bakersfield Blaze on April 27, 1995, against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Placed on a 90-pitch limit, and throwing mainly fastballs, Nomo pitched 5⅓ innings, taking the 2–1 loss against the Quakes. On May 2, after a month in the minors necessitated by a player's strike, he became the first Japanese-born Major Leaguer to appear in a major league game since Masanori Murakami in . He was also the first Japanese-born
Hideo Fujimoto the Giants defeated the Hawks for the championship for the third year in a row. After his playing career, he coached for the Giants and managed in the Japanese minor leagues, Later, he managed in the industrial leagues. He also worked as the Los Angeles correspondent for "Yomiuri Shimbun". Fujimoto/Nakagami was elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976. Hideo Fujimoto Fujimoto was born in Busan, Korea, moving to Japan at age eight. He attended Shimonoseki Shogyo High School and Meiji University. In 1943, he enjoyed one of the greatest seasons ever by a pitcher in Japan. He