Interviews

1. Welcoming Nomo

2. Nomo's impact on later Japanese players

3. Nomo's personality

4. Nomo attendance boost

5. Dodgers relationship with Japan

6. Walter O’Malley’s philosophy

Kohrogi,Acey

Former Director of Asian Operations for Los Angeles Dodgers

Welcoming Nomo

I’m very close with Tommy and Nomo so I can tell you that Tommy took him under his wing as his son. And he really took care of him as far as eating dinner, traveling, everything; always brought Nomo next to him and because of the support Tommy gave, the rest of the players followed that support and the whole team supported him to make sure the transition was smooth, that he can adjust to American baseball, so yes, Tommy Lasorda was a big part of Nomo’s success. He made him comfortable.

baseball baseball fields California Hideo Nomo Los Angeles Los Angeles Dodgers Tommy Lasorda United States

Date: March 21, 2014

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Mark Langill

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)