CHICAGO (AP) — The road for Shota Imanaga from Japan to the major leagues included at least one sharp observation that has served him well in his transition to life with the Chicago Cubs.
“Watching foreign players in Japan and how they try to figure out how to get support from the fans, essentially I’m just doing the opposite of that, coming over here,” Imanaga said through a translator. “It was something I thought about.”
From his entertaining pitching style to his trips to Dunkin’ Donuts — “Either I order a small iced latte or a medium,” he said — Imanaga has moved with a purpose in his acclimation to the big leagues. And he is making it look easy at the moment.
Relying on a deceptive four-seam fastball that he usually locates at the top of the strike zone, along with a splitter that plays at the bottom, Imanaga is 5-0 with a 0.84 ERA for the contending Cubs. The left-hander also has 58 strikeouts and nine walks in 53 2/3 innings — thrusting himself into the early conversation for NL Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award.
Supreme Court rejects an appeal from a Canadian man once held at Guantanamo
Travis Kelce responds to Jana Kramer's claims he's a bad influence on girlfriend Taylor Swift
South Sudan mediation talks launched in Kenya with a hope of ending conflict
Supreme Court sides with music producer in copyright case over sample in Flo Rida hit
Hollywood star Shia LaBeouf is spotted on the streets of Gavin and Stacey's hometown Barry
Charli XCX puts on busty display in VERY low
Shaquille O'Neal leaves fans concerned with cryptic social media response to his ex
The fightback begins: Boss of London's Queen Mary University tells pro
Poland lifts immunity of a judge who defected to Belarus, paving way for an arrest warrant
Independent UN experts urge Yemen’s Houthis to free detained Baha'i followers
ASU scholar on leave after confrontation with woman at pro