When Shota Imanaga signed with the Chicago Cubs this past offseason, a lot of people raised their eyebrows and shook their heads.
Four years and $53 million seemed like a big risk for the Cubs at the time. Imanaga was 30 years old and had solid, but not overwhelmingly good stats in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league. His potential to improve seemed low and the likelihood he’d regress soon due to his age seemed high.
Standing at only 5 feet and 10 inches and averaging only 92 miles an hour on his fastball, Imanaga also represented a sharp detour from the tall, hard-throwing starter that every MLB team seems to want in this modern era. So, his velocity and physical attributes weren’t making up for his age and statline either.
Many fans wondered just what the Cubs saw in Imanaga to commit a not-insignificant sum of money to him over the next four years. But then, Imanaga had his introductory press conference.
You’ve likely seen it, it took the sports community and really the entire internet by storm.
“Hey Chicago, what do you say?” Imanaga said in English, “The Cubs are going to win today.”
The line from the Cubs’ famous victory song “Go Cubs Go” immediately endeared him to the team’s fans and, really, baseball fans everywhere. It was only the beginning of what baseball fans would find out about Imanaga’s unique, fun personality.
In Japan, Imanaga earned the moniker “The Throwing Philosopher,” on account of his scholarly approach to studying and perfecting the art of pitching. As a result of his attitude towards pitching, he tends to sound uniquely sophisticated when talking about his craft.
“I know that I have a unique personality. Even if I’m trying to say a normal thing, it comes out a little sophisticated,” Imanaga said in an interview on MLB Central back in May.
That wasn’t Imanaga’s only nickname to go viral. He later revealed in a different interview that he uses the name “Mike” at Starbucks because it makes it easier on baristas who would otherwise constantly misspell his real name.
His teammates took it and ran with it, even changing the nameplate on his locker to “Mike Imanaga II.”
But why the suffix, indicating that he was Imanaga the Second?
According to Imanaga, it “just sounds cool.”
Imanaga also revealed in an interview during his first trip to New York that he recognized the city from the Spider-Man game, much to his delight.
All of these moments and many more won over the hearts of Cubs and MLB fans, and even though initially they might’ve had doubts that he could find success in the MLB, they couldn’t help but root for him now.
But the thing is, Imanaga did find success, against all odds and all conventional knowledge held among prominent modern baseball minds.
He was brilliant right from his first outing. Through his first nine starts, Imanaga wasn’t just holding his own in the MLB. He was the best pitcher in the game.
Through those nine games he owned a 5-0 record and a league-leading 0.84 ERA.
He hasn’t slowed down since then, either. Through almost the end of September, Imanaga has made 29 starts and holds a superb 15-3 record with a 2.91 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 173.1 innings pitched.
Unsurprisingly, the accolades have poured in. Imanaga was National League Rookie of the Month for April and named a National League All-Star. He’s sure to be in the running for the Rookie of the Year award and the National League Cy Young award.
And on September 4, he threw the bulk of a Cubs combined no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He threw seven hitless innings, and two relief pitchers finished the game off to secure the first no-hitter at Wrigley Field since 1972.
With each superb outing and every accolade he receives, Imanaga defies modern MLB conventions about age (only invest in the young), velocity (the faster the better), scouting (the NPB is deeper than we thought) and pitching in general (command, location, and diverse arsenals are still king!)
Best of all, he’s done it with a smile on his face, a can-do attitude, and a lot of studious hard work.
And maybe most importantly, a big personality that sets him apart from everyone and makes him truly unique.
With his underdog status, brilliant success, and fun personality, how can Shota Imanaga not be one of your favorite players in the whole MLB?