'It's a great honor': Shota named Opening Day starter for Tokyo Series?

MESA, Ariz. -- Shota Imanaga has taken the mound inside the Tokyo Dome in the past, but his next appearance there will carry more of an historic impact. The lefty will be returning to Japan with the Cubs next month to open the Major League season against the Dodgers.

Imanaga was always the clear choice to be the Cubs’ Opening Day starter for the March 18 tilt against the reigning World Series champions, but the honor has now been officially bestowed on the pitcher. Imanaga will take the ball in the first tilt of the two-game Tokyo Series, with fellow countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers likely getting the starting nod.

“It’s a great honor,” Imanaga said on Wednesday via interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “I have to say, though, that the reason that the Japanese players are getting a lot of attention is because of all the players in the past that came before us who created this path for all the Japanese players.

“We are walking on their history. I want to say thank you to all of them. And I’m very excited.”

The March 18-19 series will not only feature Imanaga and Yamamoto facing off in the opener, but Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers and Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs are key to the teams’ lineups. This past offseason, Los Angeles also reeled in Japanese pitching prospect Roki Sasaki, who was also pursued by the Cubs.

Imanaga named Ichiro Suzuki and Yu Darvish as two players who helped inspire him throughout his own baseball journey.

Both Imanaga and Suzuki have noted this spring that there has been a decline in the number of kids playing baseball in Japan, so they view this opening series as a great opportunity. Suzuki, in particular, recalled being in the Tokyo Dome at 9 years old, when Hideki Matsui homered for the Yankees in a season-opening series in 2004.

“I’m really excited. I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for the kids,” Suzuki said via Stanberry. “It’s just a great opportunity for them to experience and get to watch players and make their own memories.”

Imanaga echoed that sentiment.

“Whatever the result is,” said the pitcher, “I think it’s just a good opportunity for kids and everyone to see baseball up close -- MLB baseball up close -- and hopefully that can be a motivation for them to keep on playing.”

After spending two years acclimating to the United States and playing in MLB with the Cubs, Suzuki had Imanaga join him with the ballclub last season. The outfielder was impressed with how quickly the pitcher found a comfort level both behind the scenes and on the mound.

“He was a great baseball player in Japan,” Suzuki said. “If he came over here, he was going to have good numbers. But I think for me, what was more impressive was the fact that coming here to a new environment, how quickly he got acclimated. I experienced that as well, but acclimating so fast and so well, and then to have the performance he did, I think that was incredible.”

In his first year in the Majors, Imanaga finished 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 29 starts for the North Siders, who went 23-6 when he pitched. He racked up 174 strikeouts against just 28 walks in 173 1/3 innings, making the National League All-Star team in the process. At the end of the year, Imanaga placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young voting.

It was an ace-like performance worthy of this year’s Opening Day assignment.

“It’s a huge honor for starting pitchers,” said Cubs lefty Justin Steele, who was the team’s Opening Day starter last season. “With the season he had last year, he was definitely deserving of it. He came into this league right away and was dominating immediately.”

Earlier this spring, manager Craig Counsell joked that he was probably “mandated” to hand the ball to Imanaga in the season opener, given the stage and opponent. The series being in Japan certainly played a role, but Imanaga also earned the nod with his impressive rookie showing for Chicago last summer.

“It makes total sense to have Shota go in Game 1,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer told reporters at Cactus League media day on Tuesday. “They’re [likely] starting Yamamoto. We’re starting Shota. … I think the fan interest -- world-wide fan interest -- is going to be off the charts. I think it’s an awesome thing, just for the game of baseball.”