Don Nomura NPB was no longer bound to their NPB team outside Japan and was free to sign overseas without violating the working agreement. After the 1994 season Nomura assisted star NPB pitcher Hideo Nomo in testing the loophole. After failing to reach a contract agreement with the Kintetsu Buffaloes, Nomo retired from NPB and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995. In 1998 he represented Hideki Irabu, whose contract was sold by the Chiba Lotte Marines to the San Diego Padres. Irabu stated that he would only play for the New York Yankees, and refused to sign with the Padres.
Robert Whiting "gaijin" ballplayer in Japan, entitled "Reggie", and published by Kodansha Comic Morning that sold 750,000 copies in graphic novel form. His latest work is a biography of the Japanese pitcher, Hideo Nomo, who played in the US Major Leagues and was National League Rookie of the Year in 1995. The book was published in 2011 by PHP in Japanese. (Whiting has publicly praised Nomo, asserting that the history of Japanese baseball can be split up into “pre-Nomo and post-Nomo” eras.) The English-language "The Book of Nomo" was published in January 2017. In addition to his books, Whiting has been published