Shota Imanaga doing more than ever to ensure he and Cubs share common language

“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 Sunday 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, David Ross and now Craig Counsell. He has been there for all three of Imanaga’s seasons with the team.

He knows well Imanaga’s inclination to hold himself to an extremely high standard. An impossible one.

“I think he understands when he was younger and in Japan, there’s always [this thing where] Japanese pitchers definitely want to be perfect, and they want to practice perfect, and they want to have perfect results,” Hottovy says. “And I think that’s really hard to do in the big leagues. Yes, we want to have very good results, but to strive to be perfect every outing is not quite realistic.”

Veteran pitcher Jameson Taillon, who has been with the Cubs since Imanaga arrived, says he never has noticed Imanaga having a hard time rebounding from a poor outing.

“He always seems in good spirits,’’ he said.

But pitching can offer an open invitation to self-immolation.

“I think it’s really hard to be a starter in the major leagues, and it can also be lonely,” Taillon says. “If you have a bad outing and you’re hard on yourself and you think you lost the team a game . . .  . If you think about it like that, it can be really lonely and hard.  . . . I think just as starters in general, it’s something we all battle a little.’’

Edwin Cabrera is the only new starter in the rotation. The others have spent time together. It’s a big part of the Cubs’ culture to watch out for one another, Taillon says. And that culture extends beyond the pitchers.

“It’s important to check in on teammates,’’ he says. “I think the longer you play, you just understand it. This game’s gonna be hard for all of us at some point, so you’ve got to reach out in your way to make people feel special and important.”

One of the things that has helped the bonding process, Hottovy says, is that whenever a starter is warming up before a game or throwing a bullpen session between starts, the other starters come to watch.

“Those moments when they hear other talk about what they’re working on and can get pointers and give feedback, that’s when you create a culture of guys that want to push each other to get better,” Hottovy says.

From the time Imanaga came to the Cubs, he has made an effort to fit in.

“He’s really tried to be a part of this team, this culture,’’ Taillon says. “Little things. Like, he learned some English small talk from the get-go. Even though his English isn’t great, he learned how to interact, baseball-wise and talking smack.

“I’ve also noticed he’s on board with what the Cubs want, like the strength program, the training room program, arm care, recovery. He collaborates a lot with the Cubs. Guys are sometimes stuck in their ways, or they think they know the right way to do things.”

That has not been Imanaga.

“I think he’s been very willing to assimilate into major-league baseball,” Taillon says. “Like, I know they do a lot more [pitchers’ fielding practice] in Japan. We lift heavier here. But he’s willing to ask questions and learn and understand why it’s beneficial.”

If there has been a noticeable change in Imanaga this season, it’s in how much more comfortable he appears.

“He doesn’t want his interpreter around 24-7,” Taillon says. “He wants to interact with us the best he can. He wants to figure things out himself, which I think is an admirable quality. He drives himself [places], everywhere. On off days, he’ll go shopping by himself. He’s done a really good job of trying to fit in and be a part of this team.”

In that spirit, Hottovy says, Imanaga has prioritized improving his language skills.

“He’s working hard on learning English,” Hottovy says. “He’s taken a lot of pride in trying to speak as much English as possible, the same way we’re trying to learn more Japanese and give him the freedom to talk.

“Shota is a great evaluator. He knows that he is in a better place right now than we came his first year and then last year, when he was dealing with [a strained] hamstring. So he’s very confident in who he is. When you have that confidence, that’s gonna go a long way.’’

A reporter asks a couple more questions. Imanaga, who’s scheduled to pitch Saturday against the Diamondbacks, finishes putting on his shoes.

“It’s time for me to practice,” he says.

In English.