MESA, Ariz. (670 The Score) – Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga was thrilled to receive the news that he’ll start the club’s season opener against the Dodgers in his native Japan.
The Cubs and Dodgers will play in the Tokyo Dome on March 18 and March 19 to open the MLB season. Imanaga will get the ball in the first game against Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, another Japanese native.
“I was certainly thinking about the possibility, so I am really honored by the choice,” Imanaga said Wednesday through a translator. “I heard this will be the first time two Japanese MLB pitchers faced off in a series in Japan. I have to say that the reason we as modern Japanese players in MLB are getting all this attention is what the Japanese players did in the past to make the transition easier. They created this path, so we follow through the history they created. I want to say thank you to all of them.”
As the Cubs revealed the news Tuesday, manager Craig Counsell called it a “no-brainer” decision to use one of the team’s best pitchers in his home country. Imanaga views it as his responsibility to help grow the game and to make the most of getting the starting nod.
“It's a good opportunity for kids in Japan to get an up-close view of baseball,” Imanaga said. "Our responsibility is to promote the sport, since I was told less kids were playing baseball in Japan. Hopefully this will be a motivation for them to keep on playing. There is always pressure for any game you pitch. At the end of the day, it is just one start. The motivation is the same from start one through start 30. I don't think there is that much difference, but I get nervous before every start.”
Imanaga went 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 29 starts for the Cubs in 2024, his first MLB season. He finished fifth in the National League Cy Young race.
Cubs left-hander Justin Steele will likely start the second game in Tokyo after he was the club’s Opening Day starter in 2024.
“The stuff and season he had last year, he is certainly deserving of that,” Steele said of Imanaga. “He came into this league and immediately dominated. He impressed all of us with his work ethic and bullpens from the beginning. I am very excited for him.”
The Cubs-Dodgers matchup will be filled with Japanese stars. Designated hitter Seiya Suzuki is one of the Cubs’ best hitters, and the biggest star in the entire sport is Dodgers designated hitter/pitcher Shohei Ohtani, the reigning National League MVP.
Imanaga expects that Japanese fans will be rooting for every player with roots in the country.
“The Japanese fans do have a song like the Cub fans 'Go Cubs Go,’” Imanaga said about the Japanese fan experience. "For the home fans, when their team is hitting, there is a home fan song for each individual player. It is so the fan and the player can be one.”
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.