Shōta Imanaga is Already Winning Over Cubs Fans

Players have to perform at a high level to become beloved figures in their city, but for now Shōta Imanaga is making quick work to win over Chicago Cubs fans. The free agent starting pitcher officially signed with the Cubs this week and on Friday he was introduced to the media to kick off the Cubs Convention.

Imanaga’s first words to the fans?

Love it! But the newest member of the Cubs starting rotation wasn’t done winning over fans.

Imanaga was asked why chose the jersey number 18 and his answer was perfect. The pitcher said that after going through Cubs history he landed on 18 because that’s the number 2016 World Series MVP Ben Zobrist wore and the new Cubs pitcher wants to model his career in Chicago after Zobrist.

Excellent.

Of course, Cubs fans will ultimately get completely behind Imanaga if he can replicate his numbers throughout his career in the NPB. The lefty recorded a 3.18 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, while averaging a little more than a strikeout per inning during his time with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. In 2023, Imanaga led Japan in strikeouts with 174 in 148 innings, ending the year with a 2.80 ERA in 22 starts.

Before Friday’s press conference, Imanaga had already gotten in the good graces of Cubs fans after Jon Heyman reported on 670 The Score that the Japanese pitcher turned down more than double the guaranteed money that he ended up agreeing to with the Cubs.

The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney was able to speak with Imanaga through an interpreter on Thursday and wrote more about how Imanaga felt comfortable staying in Chicago during his free agent process and was hoping for the Cubs to finally offer him a deal.

Plus, there’s this awesome story from Imanaga’s first trip to Chicago back in November before he was officially posted.

Shota Imanaga listened to the roar of the crowd during the national anthem, taking in the scene before one of Connor Bedard’s first home games with the Chicago Blackhawks. Imanaga later returned to the United Center to buy a Michael Jordan jersey and take a picture next to the iconic statue.

Welcome to the Cubs, Shōta!