These Japanese pitchers have thrown no-nos

Ever since Hideo Nomo joined the Dodgers in 1995 -- setting off “Nomomania” in Los Angeles -- Japanese pitchers have been making a big impact in the Major Leagues. In 2020, for example, Kenta Maeda and Yu Darvish finished as runners-up for the American and National League Cy Young Awards, respectively.

Fittingly, Nomo authored the first MLB no-hitter thrown by a Japanese pitcher. He authored the second, too. But while many of Nomo’s countrymen have followed him successfully to MLB, only one has repeated this particular feat. (However, it’s worth noting that Darvish had a perfect game broken up with two outs in the ninth inning in 2013).

• Japan’s most influential MLB players

Here is a look at each of the three no-hitters thrown by pitchers hailing from Japan, beginning with the most recent.

Hisashi Iwakuma (Mariners): Aug. 12, 2015 vs. BAL
Iwakuma signed with Seattle before the 2012 season, after playing 11 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball. The right-hander struggled initially but hit his stride in the second half of his first season and carried that into 2013, when he made the AL All-Star Team and finished third in the Cy Young race by going 14-6 with a 2.66 ERA in 33 starts. After another strong campaign in ‘14, Iwakuma spent much of the first half of ‘15 on the injured list. When he returned, it seemed the Mariners might trade him before the July 31 deadline, but that deal never came.

In his third start of August, Iwakuma faced the Orioles in Seattle. Using his trusty splitter, “Kuma” held Baltimore to three walks, struck out seven, threw 116 pitches and retired 14 of his final 15 batters. When center fielder Austin Jackson ran down Gerardo Parra’s fly ball in the left-center gap with two outs in the ninth, the job was done.

"To be honest with you, I never thought that I would accomplish this no-hitter. A lot of that goes to my teammates, who played great defense today," Iwakuma said afterward, through his translator. "My family that was there today, I felt strong with them being around. I felt the fans a lot toward the end especially. It means a lot to me accomplishing this in a Seattle Mariners uniform."

Iwakuma finished his MLB career in Seattle in 2017. In January ‘21, he rejoined the organization as a special assignment coach.

Hideo Nomo (Red Sox): April 4, 2001 at BAL
After his fantastic first two seasons, Nomo had settled in as more of an average pitcher from 1997-2000, with a collective 94 ERA+. During that time, he bounced from the Dodgers to the Mets, Cubs, Brewers, Phillies and Tigers -- though he didn’t actually pitch for Chicago or Philadelphia -- before signing with Boston in December 2000.

Nomo may not have been in his prime any longer, but he was still capable of greatness. In his Red Sox debut and the team’s second game of the season, he delivered an 11-strikeout, three-walk no-no. Nomo managed that despite a power outage delaying the start of the game by 43 minutes.

It was the earliest no-hitter by calendar date in MLB history and the only one thus far at Baltimore’s Camden Yards. Nomo remains one of five pitchers to accomplish the feat in both the AL and NL, along with Hall of Famers Jim Bunning, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan and Cy Young.

• Pitchers with multiple no-hitters

After leading the AL in strikeouts (and walks) in 2001, Nomo pitched four more seasons for the Dodgers and Devil Rays before reappearing in the Majors briefly with the Royals in 2008. He remains the all-time leader in starts, innings and strikeouts among Japanese-born pitchers.

Hideo Nomo (Dodgers): Sept. 17, 1996 at COL
Wait, “at COL?” Yes, that really happened.

In 1995, Nomo had joined the Dodgers as the first MLB player from Japan in more than 30 years. Then 26, Nomo became an instant sensation with his tornado-like delivery and nasty forkball on his way to NL All-Star and Rookie of the Year honors.

His sophomore campaign was a worthy followup. Nomo finished fourth in the NL Cy Young Award race for the second consecutive year while going at least eight innings in 10 of his 16 victories. Near the end of that season, the Dodgers traveled to the hitter’s paradise of (pre-humidor) Coors Field to face a Rockies offense that hit a collective .343/.408/.579 at home, setting a single-season record for home OPS. MLB pitchers combined to post a 7.06 ERA there.

Although he walked four batters, Nomo also struck out eight in a 9-0 Los Angeles victory. He whiffed Ellis Burks for the final out of what's still the only no-hitter in Coors Field history.

"Hideo Nomo has done what they said could not be done, not in the Mile High City, not at Coors Field in Denver," said legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully, who was on the call. “He has not only shut out the Rockies, he has pitched a no-hitter. And thank goodness they saw it in Japan.”