Shota Imanaga, MLB's ERA Leader, Can't Make Up His Mind at Dunkin' Donuts

Tim Capurso | May 19, 2024

May 18, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) warms up / Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Shota Imanaga can make grown men look foolish on a baseball diamond.

Imanaga, MLB's earned run average leader with a 0.84 mark, broke Fernando Valenzuela's record for the lowest ERA through a pitcher's first nine starts since the league started tracking the stat in 1913. Imanaga is faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, he can leap tall build—alright, alright that last one isn't true.

But watching Imanaga, the Chicago Cubs' 30-year-old Japanese rookie phenom, pitch sometimes leaves the impression that he can do no wrong. But Imanaga is here to tell fans that that is far from true.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference after tossing seven shutout innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, Imanaga said he only leaves the house to get Dunkin' Donuts, then admitted that he flip-flops the size of his latte order so much that workers think he can't make up his mind.

"So, either I order a small iced latte or a medium so they probably think that, 'Oh, this guy can't make up his mind if he wants a small or medium,'" Imanaga said to the amusement of the media.

Shōta Imanaga runs on Dunkin' ☕️ pic.twitter.com/6BnTosMRJV

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 18, 2024

Perfectly relatable.

Sometimes a small latte is the perfect amount of caffeine, and sometimes the medium just gives the sleep-deprived human body that little bit of extra oomph it needs to get through the day.

MLB hitters can only hope that Imanaga, who has fired 12 straight scoreless innings, begins to show that level of indecisiveness on the mound.