Well, on the mound he’s a warrior. In front of the media interviews he’s kind of stoic. In private, very funny, he jokes around a lot and he’s a good guy. I just think he has professional side to him and he considers interviews with media and or being on the mound practice. He takes those things very seriously as job/work, but outside of that he’s pretty funny. I’ve gone out with him on several occasions- dinners and so on, it’s a lot of fun, we have lots of laughs and so on that most people don’t get to see that part of Nomo I think.
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum
Interviewee Bio
Acey Kohrogi, formerly Director of Asian Operations for Los Angeles Dodgers and assistant to Peter O’Malley, owner of the Dodgers, for 20 years, is currently working for MVP Sports Group, serving as the firm's head of Asian operations. Kohrogi spent two decades with the Dodger organization and helped them attract the likes of Major League Baseball stars Hideo Nomo, Takashi Saito, Hiroki Kuroda, Chan Ho Park and Hong-Chi Kuo. His interview for Discover Nikkei was conducted in conjunction with Dodgers—Brotherhood of the Game, the exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum. (September 2014)