“Starting from this third year, I’ve decided to stop thinking of myself as Japanese. After all, I’m in the United States. I want to carry myself proudly as a major-leaguer.’’
It’s the day after Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga made this comment to Japanese-speaking reporters Monday afternoon following a 6-0 loss to the Dodgers. A translation had appeared on social media.
The Cubs are in the visitors’ clubhouse in San Diego. Imanaga is sitting in a chair in front of his locker when an American reporter asks him what he meant by that remark. The expected response about assimilating into U.S. culture isn’t immediately forthcoming (more on that later).
No, this is about Imanaga, in his third season with the Cubs, taking accountability in a new way. Through his interpreter, he says he no longer wants to use his being from Japan as an excuse for when he doesn’t do well here.
“I am not a strong person,” Imanaga says. “So for me, it was like saying that out loud, putting that out there. I feel like before, I had excuses within myself if I had a bad outing or didn’t do well. But by putting that out there now, it’s like I’m putting more pressure on myself.”
He had alluded to this new vision after his loss in Los Angeles:
“Results like [this] would have left me down in the dumps in the past. But there’s always a next time, so I want to hold my head high and approach my next start with resolve.’’
• • •
“Nobody made me come to the U.S. to play baseball. That was my decision, right? That was my decision. There are people around me, my interpreter, the sports staff, the training staff, that I know I can rely on when I need to. But because it was my decision to come here, I want to do some things on my own.”
Tommy Hottovy has been the Cubs’ pitching coach since 2019, serving under three managers: Joe Maddon, Davi
