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
Italy national baseball team Italy national baseball team The Italy national baseball team represents Italy in international baseball competition. The Italian national team is as of 2013 ranked 11th in the world. Team Italia competed in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in , though with a much more Americanized roster than the team ordinarily uses in international play. Of the thirty players on Italy's roster, at least 23 were born in the US. A player is eligible to participate on a World Baseball Classic team if: Italy competed in Pool D, which included Venezuela, the Dominican Republic & Australia. All games during round one