Kenta Maeda was 7 years old when he became aware of Japanese-born pitcher Hideo Nomo joining the Dodgers in 1995.
“I was actually trying to copy his tornado,” Maeda said through an interpreter Thursday at Dodger Stadium. “It was very difficult.”
Now 27, Maeda is the toast of Los Angeles. He has something Nomo never received: An eight-year contract to pitch for the Dodgers, worth a guaranteed $25 million. The Dodgers also paid a $20 million posting fee to negotiate with Maeda, who spent the last eight years in Japan pitching for the Hiroshima Carp.
In 2015, Maeda had a 2.