Chicago Cubs Rookie Imanaga Strikes Out Former NL MVP
Chicago Cubs pitcher Shōta Imanaga made his spring training debut on Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers and all he did was strike out a former National League MVP in his first outing.
Imanaga had an interesting debut at the Dodgers’ facility at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz. He struck out five hitters. He gave up a three-run home run — something he actually said was one of his goals to avoid.
He pitched two innings plus one hitter and that last hitter was Miguel Rojas, who struck out before Imanaga headed to the dugout.
But it was the first strikeout — and the hitter that he sent to the dugout in doing so — that caught everyone’s attention.
It was Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, a seven-time All-Star who has a World Series ring and was named the 2020 MVP.
Imanaga is slated to be a middle-of-the-rotation starter for the Cubs this season after the team signed him to a five-year, $80 million deal in the offseason, one of two major signings the Cubs pulled off in free agency. The other was re-signing Cody Bellinger last week.
He ingratiated himself to Cubs fans in January at the Cubs Convention, just after he signed the deal. He spoke in English and recited the words of the Steve Goodman song “Go, Cubs Go,” saying “Hey, Chicago, What do you say? The Cubs Gonna Win Today.”
He even chose No. 18 as his jersey, saying he wanted to wear it because Ben Zobrist wore it in 2016.
While he is a Major League rookie, Imanaga is one of the most experienced pitchers to come out of Japan in recent times. The 30-year-old
With the Yokohama Bay Stars, Imanaga threw more than 1,000 innings and went 64-50 with a 3.18 ERA in 165 games. He struck out 1,021 and walked just 280. He threw a no-hitter in 2022.
