How Shota Imanaga Took Over Baseball Out Of Nowhere

[@robertkidnley93]

He won me over when he was introduced and he said "hey Chicago...what do you say..the cubs are going to win today" baller introduction

[@aduncaroo]

💯

[@chokozai]

Thank you for making Shota's video! I'm watching this from Japan🇯🇵

[@burningknuckle26]

Shota is awesome

[@ChairmanMeow1]

Best example of not being a thrower... but being a pitcher. Dude is so intelligent. Changes speeds, locations, everything. Plus he has that dog in him, doesnt get rattled.

[@Kidfromthemidwest]

Huge cubs fan here! Knew shota was gonna be a stud just from the press conference, you can see by the way he Carrie’s himself. Really professional trying to perfect his craft, that’s why the nickname “pitching philosopher” suits very well

[@PurelyBaseballYT]

It really does suit him so well

[@ADarkKnight-c1t]

"Hello Chicago"

[@JHW773]

He had me at hello 😅

[@TheXodiacKiller]

“What do you say”….

[@damianlillard06]

@@TheXodiacKiller”The cubs are gonna win today!”

[@RayzeCruxis]

Im not a cubby but i love how he takes even his slightly off control to heart. Thats dedication to game and that yo-yo grip he has is working numbers. Im eager to see when he wins the cy young.

[@TeAmo-MeWe]

He is my favorite now Let's go, Shota!

[@Chance_2018]

Picked him up in my fantasy thought he might be as good as yahmamoto turned out to be even better

[@PurelyBaseballYT]

Beast

[@SK-dn9nk]

He was the starting pitcher in the WBC final. Darvish and Ohtani were in the bullpen.

[@TheXodiacKiller]

I love how much emotion he shows after a huge strikeout or inning ending out. I don’t remember many Japanese players who do show their emotions and getting “pumped-up” and excited.

[@PurelyBaseballYT]

He’s awesome

[@TheXodiacKiller]

@@PurelyBaseballYT 5-0 in 6 starts. 0.78 ERA And wasn’t that the rain delay he got pulled in early?

[@joen8529]

NL central is definitely not weak!

[@PurelyBaseballYT]

I would also say its not strong either

[@Nick9Three]

@@PurelyBaseballYTit’s pretty weak honestly. Reds are hanging around but can’t string wins together. Brewers are surprisingly good as well as the Cubs. Cubs are playing well despite a half dozen starters on IL. We will see what happens this coming month. Should start seeing who’s a real contender.

[@tempusnon2157]

imAnaga bro

[@Userrrtube]

Iminaga buddy😂😂

[@robam2227]

Aren't the Japanese ballparks smaller than the MLB?

[@hasher10001]

Da Cubs 😊

[@FreeSammySosa]

Hell ya

[@johnmulder7941]

Marcus had an impressive 2 year “cup of coffee”, it just sounds better

[@ku-ku-J]

SHOTAime

[@jedediahharper9092]

Who won the World Baseball classic last time? Was it the US or Japan?

[@a006delta]

I'll be honest though, nearly nobody had high hopes for Shintaro Fujinami, even from Japan. So that comparison might be mute. And we always forget about the biggest difference between NPB and MLB. The ball itself. The surface textures are wildly different, that many fail to adjust properly. Imanaga's shocking because he was able to adapt so quick, while Yamamoto's "disappointing" because he has to take more time with that change

[@yaniyuhara8165]

His last name is NOT Iminaga, but Imanaga.

[@Parlimant_Strifey]

He gets to finally eat some of those American cheeseburgers.

[@HunterL95]

He didn’t look to hot against the Braves

[@franciscoverjan7397]

You spelled Yoshinobu Yamamoto wrong

[@koningklootzak7788]

NPB is 3A level? Does that mean MLB is below 3A level? Have you watched WBC?😂 His name is not ImInaga, it's ImAnaga. Check how to pronounce a foreign name correctly before making a biased video, show some respect.

[@PurelyBaseballYT]

WBC is the best players vs the best players. WBC does not include all 721 active NPB Players. As far as his name, thats my mistake.

[@koningklootzak7788]

@@PurelyBaseballYT so you were saying the best of MLB is worse than the best of 3A. 😂

[@youaretoooocool]

Haha I love Shota.

[@JS-te2vj]

I'm sorry, Fujinami was unusable in Japan lol Imanaga wasn't necessarily dominating in Japan either...There are many more pitchers better than him in NPB

[@michaelwenzel982]

Learn the pronunciation of this guy's name if you're going to do cover him. His last name is EE MAH NAGA, not EE ME NAGA. And I know Americans pronounce their Ts as Ds, but his first name is SHOW TAH, not SHOW DA

[@dagoodistever7186]

Too bad javy Baez exists

[@TheRagratus]

At least it isn't in Wrigley.

[@TheXodiacKiller]

Cubs made so many good moves getting rid of the WS core. We all questioned it and many of the moves and some questioned them all. Baez still has zero plate discipline and is just “flashy with the leather and tagging runners” (No Diddy) , KB is never healthy, Contreras was a horrible pitch caller and average behind the plate, and Addison Russell beat up his own career. Out of the 2016 group, Rizzo was the one that hurt the most and has been good for the Yankees since leaving (and healthy). Hate he had that bizarre head injury last season.

[@dagoodistever7186]

Baez is a top 1 player in the mlb

[@douglascarter2078]

How is Shohei the best player in baseball when he didn't finish #1 in any metric last season? He wasn't in the top #50 in any metric as a pitcher. He's good but not the best by any measurement.

[@PurelyBaseballYT]

Statistically, he was extremely well rounded