Samurai Japan star Shota Imanaga reaches MLB milestone

WBSC Premier12 and World Baseball Classic winner Shota Imanaga became the first pitcher to go 4-0 with an Earned Run Average (ERA) below one in his first five Major League Baseball (MLB) starts since the 1945 performance by Dave Ferriss.

Imanaga, a 31-year-old rookie, started five games for the Chicago Cubs, allowing only five runs in 27.1 innings (0.98 ERA). He struck out 28, allowing 19 hits, including two home runs, and three walks.

After starring for the Yokohama DeNA Bay Stars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 2019 to 2024, Imanaga signed a four-year contract worth US$53 million with the Cubs in January 2024.

A left-handed pitcher who throws from a three-quarters arm angle, Imanaga is nicknamed The Throwing Philosopher in Japan. He is an International baseball veteran. He starred in the Australian Baseball League (ABL) 2018-2019, when he was an NPB minor leaguer, and helped Japan win the WBSC Premier12 2019 and the World Baseball Classic 2023.

Dave Ferriss was born in 1921. He received the first full baseball scholarship to Mississippi State University in 1941. He signed for the Boston Red Sox in 1942 but appeared in only 21 minor league games before the US Army drafted him from service. The right-handed pitcher (and left-handed batter) returned to baseball in February 1945. He played for the minor league Lousiville Colonels when the Red Sox called him to the MLB club on April 29. Ferriss set an American League record with 22 scoreless innings pitched by a rookie. It stood until Brad Ziegler broke it in 2008. He finished the season with a 21-10 record. He did even better (25-6) the following year, leading the Red Sox to the World Series. After his playing career was over, Ferriss coached at the professional and collegiate levels for 46 years. He was inducted into the Boston Red Sox, the American Baseball Coaches Association and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. He died in 2016, the year when Imanaga made his MLB debut.