Meanwhile, On The Mound In Tokyo...

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By David A. Kaplan

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HIDEO NOMO, MEET Terry Bross. While Nomo was a sensation of major-league baseball the past season, Bross became the expat star of Japan. For years, Bross had bounced around in the minor-league franchises of the New York Mets and three other clubs. He appeared in only eight big-league games, though his 0-0 record doesn't even reflect that. So, like other American never-weres before him, Bross headed west to the East. As the ace of the Yakult Swallows--a Tokyo team owned by a milk-drink empire--he went 14-5, leading the Central League with a 2.33 earned-run average. To take the pennant in September, he threw a no-hitter against the Yomiuri Giants. And last week he won an even bigger game, the one that gave the Swallows the Japan Series title.

In Tokyo, Bross sticks out like a Randy Johnson. At 6-foot-8, Bross boasts, "I'm Japan's only two-meter player." He's mastered 50 Japanese expressions and already knows where the hank is, earning more than $1 million this season in salary and bonuses. Bross expects to be back next year, along with two other Americans who've found a home in the Yakult dugout: first baseman Tom O'Malley and third baseman Hensley Meulens. Together they hope to share more high-fives with grateful fans. It sure beats facing Fred McGriff.

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