My Oldest One

On my desk at home, I have a stack of baseball cards that I set aside for the Platter.  These cards are ones that I have picked up randomly from pack pulls to card shop purchases.  I think they look cool and would make for a nice story to tell.

Most of this stack is vintage cards.  The way the players looked and even the wear on the card itself is interesting when it comes to the vintage years.  The weathered faces of baseball players of the past is fun for me to look at.

Another attribute of the random stack of cards that wait to be posted about is uniqueness.  Cards that I have never seen before of players that I collect.  Maybe a card of a Dodger star in an oddball set may fit this bill.

This Hideo Nomo is definitely unique.  This card comes from across the sea in Japan.  Nomo is a snazzy, retro, early 90s uniform.

That is a great throwback look.  The hat or the jersey should be in my wardrobe.  I have thought for awhile that I had everything I ever needed.  I guess I was wrong.  I need a Kintetsu Buffaloes hat from 1991.

The set that this card comes from is 1991 BBM.  Nomo pitched 5 seasons with the Buffaloes.  Nomo burst onto the Japanese seen with a stellar rookie season.  He had 287 strikeouts in 235 innings pitched.  Nomo was only 21 years old that season.  I kind of miss the days of letting good young pitchers rack up heavy innings totals.

The attitude of win now and winning now means using your best pitcher for 235 innings in his rookie season, then so be it.  National fans must be wondering, what if?

In 1991, Nomo once again struck out 287 dudes, which would be his high strikeout total while in Japan.  Nomo was a workhorse in 1991.  He throw a career high of 242.1 innings.  That is the most he threw in Japan and in the U.S.

Also in 1991, Nomo was working on his craft has a cardboard superstar.  He probably know that posing in front of a giant dark green wall was a bad idea.  Nomo was trying to make the best of the photographer's poor judgement and is standing with his unique wind-up.

I am unsure as to what the back of the card says.  Only some of the letters and numbers are understandable to me.  I think the back of the card is showing the history of the Kintetsu Buffaloes.  The years on the left start in 1960 and go to 1990.

This 1991 BBM is my oldest Nomo card by far.  My next oldest in from his rookie season of 1995 with the LA Doyers.

Was Nomo dreaming of going to the U.S. and playing major league baseball in 1991?  How far in advance to he plot his escape route to come to the Dodgers?

I wish I could find those answers out.  Now I need to go on a search for a Kintetsu Buffaloes hat.