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.
Date: March 21, 2014
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Mark Langill
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum