Nippon Professional Baseball players like the Lee brothers, Leron Lee and Leon Lee, Greg "Boomer" Wells, Randy Bass, and Ralph Bryant playing key roles on their NPB teams. In 1995, star pitcher Hideo Nomo "retired" from the Kintetsu Buffaloes and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nomo pitched over the span of 14 seasons in the Major Leagues before retiring in 2008. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1995. He twice led the league in strikeouts, and also threw two no-hitters (the only Japanese pitcher to throw a no-hitter in Major League Baseball until Hisashi Iwakuma achieved the feat in
Kurohimeyama Hideo Kurohimeyama Hideo Kurohimeyama Hideo (born 12 November 1948 as Hideo Tanaka) is a former sumo wrestler from Ōmi, Niigata, Japan. He made his professional debut in March 1964, and first reached the top division in July 1969. After he was re-promoted to the top division in November 1969 he fought there for 71 consecutive tournaments and 1065 matches, never missing a single bout. His highest rank was "sekiwake". He retired in January 1982 and became an elder in the Japan Sumo Association. He worked as a coach at Tatsunami stable, and his two sons were both wrestlers there under the