Shota Imanaga de los Cuberros in the Tokyo series: ‘He feels like a dream’

Tokyo – Puppies The left -handed Shota Imanaga was the last player in the field on Sunday before the puppies play against Yomiuri giants, when he finished training in the left garden. But because I was still there, there were also dozens of local reporters.

The presence of Imanaga has felt in the days before the first game of the season against the Dodgers, although he has not yet played.

He and Seiya Suzuki took the press conference podium on Friday before the team’s training, facing a dance hall full of media members at Tokyo Dome Hotel. It was included in the alignment ads for both exhibition games even though I was not starting.

On Tuesday, Imanaga, the Starter of the Puppies OpeningThe rest of the road will pass in the center of attention.

“It simply feels like a dream,” said Edwin Stanberry through the interpreter before going to Tokyo. “In the same way as when I was a child and seeing the players (MLB) play in Japan, I hope that children now in Japan can see that, they feel in the same way.”

The launch of Imanaga in the Tokyo series established another moment of complete circle. Now in an American team that plays in Japan, Imanaga two years ago was in the Japan team that started in the World Baseball Championship in Miami.

He faced a firm line of the US team., With the star of the Dodgers, Mookie Betts in the initial place. Many MLB teams paid attention when Imanaga took the ball, anticipating its transfer to MLB. The puppies were one of them.

“I wouldn’t say I was really concentrated in that,” Imanaga said. “At the time, I was focusing on the game and seeing great players.”

He launched two tickets and kept the US team to a race, in a solitary home run of Trea Turner.

That title game ended up with the Superstar Shohei Ohtani taking the mound to close the game and struggling his teammate, Mike Trout, to ensure the 3-2 victory for the Japan team.

As much attention as Imanga has attracted this week, it pales compared to Ohtani Mania.

“Only a wonderful person in general,” Imanaga said about Ohtani. “You really can’t meet people like that. But regardless of whether he was a younger teammate or a major teammate, he respected everyone. ”

The WBC led to a healthy Nippon Professional baseball season for Imanaga, after which it was sent to MLB.

“It was a great experience,” Imanaga said about his eight seasons with Yokohama Dena Baystars of NPB. “As the years passed, my work and my standard of what I needed to make higher. That was great “.

He raised that standard again in his MLB season of the Rookie, causing the transition to seem easy when he finished fourth in the rookie vote of the year of the National League and the fifth for Cy Young.

“With great players, we get greedy and we want more, more, more,” said Manager Craig Counsell on Sunday. “What Shota did last year was very, very difficult to do. You do that again and you gathered another great season. “

As part of that great first season, Imanaga faced Ohtani for the first time last April, hitting him in a battle of nine pitches. They have faced five times in total, and Ohtani has not yet reached the base against Imanaga.

They are prepared to face on Tuesday, for the first time in their country of origin.

“A fantastic player in a fantastic team,” Imanaga said. “They will be a formidable opponent, but I’m going to do everything possible to keep it without score.”

With Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound for the Dodgers, it will also be the first confrontation between two Japanese -born launches in Japanese in the history of the MLB opening day.