Shota Imanaga Makes History in MLB Debut

Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga did not allow a hit for 5.2 innings in his major league debut Monday against the Colorado Rockies, matching a record that had stood for at least 104 years.

The Cubs signed Imanaga in January to a 4-year, $53 million contract that is already beginning to look like a bargain.

The left-hander had his share of ups and downs in spring training. In four starts, Imanaga threw 12.2 innings and allowed 18 hits, nine runs, and finished with a 5.68 ERA.

It is not uncommon for Japanese pitchers to struggle in their first exposure to MLB hitters. In addition to a new level and style of play, they must adapt to a new baseball, outdoor stadiums — and, in Imanaga’s case, the higher elevation that comes with playing games in Arizona. Baseballs typically travel farther off the bat in elevated outdoor stadiums than the indoor, sea-level stadiums typically found in Japan.

All of this merely made Imanaga’s afternoon debut at Wrigley Field all the more special.

Throwing a four-seam fastball that touched 94 mph according to Statcast, in addition to a split-fingered fastball, sweeper, and occasional curveball, Imanaga had the Rockies looking like amateurs for six innings. His flirtation with a no-hit bid was not a matter of mere luck. Until the sixth inning, Colorado struggled to put the ball in play. Imanaga finished with nine strikeouts and 20 swings and misses — 12 on the splitter alone.

Imanaga, 30, will make a base salary of $13.25 million this year. That’s a relatively large sum for a player in his first year in MLB. However, Imanaga arrived with eight years of experience in NPB, the highest professional league in Japan. Last year Imanaga posted a superlative 2.66 ERA across 159 innings for the Yokohama BayStars.

Imanaga is also just the third-highest-paid pitcher in the Cubs’ rotation this year, behind veterans Jameson Taillon and Kyle Hendricks.

The Cubs are hoping the offseason investments in their rotation and the rest of their roster, including re-signing star center fielder Cody Bellinger, are enough to end the club’s four-year postseason drought. Last year, the Cubs fell one game behind the eventual National League pennant-winning Arizona Diamondbacks for the league’s final wild-card berth.

The Rockies occupy the opposite end of baseball’s talent spectrum. They’re 1-4 through their first five games of the season, having been outscored by a combined score of 37-14.

Unfortunately for Imanaga, he probably won’t face the Rockies again for some time, but his teammates can enjoy hosting them Tuesday and Wednesday before the Los Angeles Dodgers come to town.