Don Nomura | |
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Born | Donald Engel May 17, 1957 Chūō, Tokyo, Japan |
Nationality | American/Japanese |
Alma mater | St. Mary's Int'l, Chofu High School, graduated Zama High School 1975 California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (1975–1977) |
Occupation | Sports agent |
Employer(s) | KDN Management, KDN Japan |
Known for | Enabling Hideo Nomo, Hideki Irabu and Alfonso Soriano to move from NPB to MLB Masato Yoshii (NPB-MLB) Akinori Otsuka (NPB-MLB) Katsuhiro Maeda (NPB-MLB) Yutaka Enatsu (NPB-MLB) Jack Howell (MLB-NPB) Doug DeCinces (MLB-NPB) Ben Oglivie (MLB-NPB) Tony Barnette (MLB-NPB) Mac Suzuki (MLB-NPB) Yu Darvish (NPB-MLB) Hisashi Iwakuma (NPB-MLB) Kenta Maeda (NPB-MLB) and many others |
Parent(s) | Yoshie Itō Alvin George Engel Katsuya Nomura (stepfather) |
Don Katsuaki Nomura (団 野村, Dan Nomura, born Donald Engel, May 17, 1957) is a sports agent who primarily represents Japanese baseball players. He is best known for convincing Nippon Professional Baseball players Hideo Nomo and Alfonso Soriano to retire from the league to sign with Major League Baseball in the 1990s, as well as negotiating for Hideki Irabu to be sent to the New York Yankees like he requested instead of the San Diego Padres, which led to the NPB dissolving the reserve clause and paved the way for Japanese Baseball players playing in the MLB.