Hideo Nomo

Baseball Player

Nomo was the first Japanese baseball star to pitch in the American major leagues. His 1995 debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers was closely watched by fans in the U.S. and Japan. He was named the National League Rookie of the Year in 1995, and threw a no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies on 17 September 1996. Nomo also grew famous for his unorthodox "tornado" delivery, twisting his body around with hands held high before each pitch. On 4 April 2001 he threw another no-hitter, this time while with the Boston Red Sox. The feat made him only the fourth pitcher to throw a no-hitter in both the American and National leagues, along with Cy Young, Jim Bunning and Nolan Ryan.

Extra credit: Nomo returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the start of the 2002 season... He won a silver medal in 1988 as part of the Japanese Olympic baseball squad.

Other baseball stars on Who2 include Ichiro Suzuki, Barry Bonds, Sadaharu Oh and Babe Ruth.