  The grumpy old man of Japanese
baseball, Nomura is respected, feared and hated, but
seldom loved. Giants fan despise him, probably because of
the bad blood between him and Yomiuri manager Shigeo
Nagashima. Playing
during the same era, Nomura slugged more home runs and
compiled more RBIs than Nagashima but never got the
recognition. Nomura downplayed the rift by simply saying
he and the Yomiuri manager just don't have anything in
common.
Swallows
fans respect Nomura and are very gracious for his help in
leading Yakult to three pennants in the last five years.
But the man does not elicit much devotion.  Perhaps
it's his surly sarcastic demeanor or his reputation for
giving up when the odds are against him.
Though
normally devoted to their team even in the worst of
seasons, the oendan--organized cheering
sections, armed with drums, trumpets and flags--were so
enraged by Nomura in August 1996 that they simply stayed
home. Why?
The
day before, the Yakult skipper said to reporters that the
Swallows, then roughly eight games out of first place,
didn't have a chance of winning the pennant, and that it
was the Giants' turn to go to the Japan Series. Perhaps
it was a realistic view of the situation, but that's not
what the oendan wanted to hear.
Nor
did it help matters when Nomura publicly ridiculed two
former Swallows players before the 1995 season. Both Jack
Howell and Katsumi Hirosawa left Yakult and joined the
Giants. Nomura said he was glad to be rid of
them--Howell, according to Nomura, was an unreliable
hypochondriac, and Hirosawa couldn't run. Those who
appreciate Nomura's blunt assessments were surely
pleased, but many Swallows fans were not.
Depending
on one's sense of humor, Nomura is either rude or the
funniest man in the game. Once, when it seemed all Giants
hitters were in a slump, he sarcastically said that he
was afraid of facing the Giants since they were all
cleanup hitters.
Regardless
of his personality, Nomura has emerged the best manager
in Japan. A practitioner of "Instant Data
Yakyu," Nomura's devotion to statistics dictates
much of what he does on the field and who the team
acquires or releases. By outguessing his opponents and
taking advantage of their weaknesses, Nomura has been
able to guide a perennial cellar-dweller into Japan's
most consistent champion.
And
what he's done for the team he has also done for several
players. Well known for recycling other teams' trash,
Nomura has taken Masato Yoshii, Kazuya Tabata, Takehiko
Kobayakawa , and Tetsuhiro Nonaka and given them all a
new chance. All have had their greatest success after
joining the Swallows.
Nomura's
biggest challenge now is what to do with Hisanobu
Watanabe. A terrific pitcher who compiled a 124-103
career record with the Seibu Lions, the 32-year-old
right-handed hurler hasn't pitched effectively in years.
It will an interesting test of Nomura's talent to see if
he can turn Watanabe around . . . and return the Swallows
to the Japan Series.
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