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
Sri Lanka national baseball team Sri Lanka national baseball team The Sri Lanka national baseball team is the national baseball team of Sri Lanka. Baseball was introduced to Sri Lanka in the mid 1980s. American Baseball coach Jim Dimick was the first official coach to teach the game to the players. The team represents Sri Lanka in international competitions. Sri Lanka took part in the first ever Asian Baseball Cup, which was held in Philippines in 1995. Twenty four countries belong to the Baseball Federation of Asia. In May 2009, Sri Lanka qualified for the Semi-finals of the Asian Baseball Championship for the first time.