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

Walter O’Malley’s philosophy

From what I understand Walter O’Malley’s philosophy was to help Japanese baseball. By helping Japanese baseball, it’ll be good for the Dodgers at the end. So that philosophy led to Taiwan, Korea, Australia, and so on too, but we supported Japanese baseball so we would bring in-1958 we had players from Tokyo Giants, the manager, come train with us. Tokyo Giants won nine victories in a row after Tommy Lasorda goes to Miyazaki to teach Dodger way of baseball. Nine straight victories by the Tokyo Giants, the manager Kawakami credits the Dodger way of baseball to that nine straight championship.

And everyone in Japan at that time knew it. So I think from Walter O’Malley’s philosophy of helping Japanese baseball to where we are today, it led to that I believe.

baseball baseball fields California Japan Los Angeles Los Angeles Dodgers San Francisco Giants Tokyo (metropolis) Tokyo Prefecture Tommy Lasorda United States Walter O’Malley

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)