, nicknamed "The Throwing Philosopher", and "Mike Imanaga II" is a Japanese professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He previously played in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Yokohama DeNA BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current n ...

from 2016 to 2023. Imanaga is a two-time NPB All-Star and he led the

Central League The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League i ...

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in 2023 before signing with the Cubs during the 2023–24 offseason. In his first season as a Cub, Imanaga was an

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

. On September 4, 2024, Imanaga pitched a combined no-hitter with

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

s Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge. The game, which was against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

, was the first no-hitter to be thrown at Wrigley by the Cubs since

Milt Pappas Milton Steven Pappas (May 11, 1939 – April 19, 2016) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . Nicknamed "Gimpy", the 17-year veteran pitched for the Baltimore Ori ...

no-hit the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

in Chicago 52 years and 2 days prior, on September 2, 1972.

Career

Yokohama DeNA BayStars

The

selected Imanaga in the first round of the 2015 NPB draft out of

Komazawa University , abbreviated as 駒大 ''Komadai'', is one of the oldest universities in Japan. Its history starts in 1592, when a seminary was established to be a center of learning for the young Bhikkhu#Monks in Japan, monks of the Sōtō, Sōtō sect, one of ...

. Imanaga signed with the

Canberra Cavalry The Canberra Cavalry (nicknamed Cavs) were a professional baseball team from Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia. Established in 2010, the team was a founding member of the Australian Baseball League (ABL). The Cavs home ground was Narrabundah B ...

of the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it s ...

to play weeks 2–7 of the 2018–19 Australian Baseball League season In his six starts for the Cavalry, he posted a 4–0

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

with a league-best 0.51

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) over 35

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

with 57

s to one

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

. By meeting the statistical recognition minimum (0.8IP per team game), Imanaga broke the league records for

WHIP A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

(0.429), H/9 (3.6), BB/9 (0.3) and second-best ERA behind Ryan Searle. Following his ABL stint, Imanaga posted a 13–7 2.91 ERA,

2019 Nippon Professional Baseball season The 2019 Nippon Professional Baseball season began on March 29. It was the 70th season since Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) was reorganized in 1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) � ...

, finishing second in wins and strikeouts only behind Shun Yamaguchi in the Central League. On June 7, 2022, Imanaga pitched a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

against the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the major ...

. He struck out nine and allowed one walk over 117 pitches. On September 6, 2023, Yokohama announced that they would

post Post, POST, or posting may refer to: Postal services * Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal s ...

Imanaga to

(MLB) following the 2023 season.

Chicago Cubs

On January 11, 2024, Imanaga signed a four-year, $53 million contract with the

that also contained a fifth-year option. The Cubs also had to pay $9.825 million to the Bay Stars in the form of a release fee. Imanaga pitched six shutout innings allowing just two hits with nine strikeouts in his first start for the Cubs on April 1, 2024. Through his first nine MLB starts, Imanaga compiled a 5-0 record with a then-league-leading 0.84 ERA. On September 4, Imanaga delivered the first seven innings of a combined no-hitter and 12–0 win over the

. Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge both followed with one inning each. It was the 18th no-hitter and the second combined no-hitter in Cubs franchise history. Additionally, it was the first no-hitter at

since 1972 when

last threw a no-hitter there. Imanaga started for the Cubs on

opening day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

in 2025 against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in the MLB Tokyo Series. In the game, Imanaga pitched four scoreless innings, allowing zero hits, and striking out two batters but got a no decision as the Cubs lost to the Dodgers in the game.

International career

Imanaga represented the

Japan national baseball team The , also known as , is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, and 2023 as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by t ...

in the 2019 exhibition games against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and 2019 WBSC Premier12. Imanaga played for the Japanese national team at the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball tournament and the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It began on March 8, 2023, and ran until March 21. It was originally scheduled to take place in ...

, and started the

championship game A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...

in which Japan won 3–2.

Playing style

Imanaga is a , left-handed pitcher throwing from a three-quarters arm angle. He has a fastball averaging nearly 92 mph (tops out at 96 mph), changeup, curveball and slider in his repertoire. He is not an overpowering hurler but finds success with his command and changeup.

Personal life

When asked by a reporter about receiving the nickname "The Throwing Philosopher," Imanaga replied (through an interpreter) "I know that I have a unique personality. If I'm trying to say a normal thing, it comes out a little sophisticated." Prior to starting his MLB career, he said at a press conference (through an interpreter), "I am by no means a finished product and there is a lot of me to learn, and there is a lot for me to study day-in and day-out. And I believe that, somehow, my approach in that way earned me the nickname." When asked how he felt pitching in New York for the first time, Imanaga replied (through an interpreter) "The view from the hotel, I recognize it from Spider-Man. So I was just like, oh, this is where Spider-Man was." Imanaga nicknamed himself "Mike" because of the difficulty baristas at

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

had pronouncing his name. The nameplate on his locker was changed to read "Mike Imanaga II"; the "II", according to Imanaga, "just sounds cool".

References

External links

NPB.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imanaga, Shota 1993 births Living people Baseball people from Kitakyushu Canberra Cavalry players Chicago Cubs players Komazawa University alumni Japanese expatriate baseball players in Australia Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Japan Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Yokohama DeNA BayStars players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players 2023 World Baseball Classic players World Baseball Classic players of Japan