Yahoo Sports senior MLB analyst Jake Mintz and senior MLB analyst Jordan Shusterman react to Tatsuya Imai’s comments about wanting to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers and make his own path in Major League Baseball. Hear the full conversation on the “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” podcast – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
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Video Transcript
Tatsuya Imai is not the hero we deserve, but he is the one we truly need.
A story came out earlier this week that the Japanese starting pitcher, One of the top available arms on the market this winter.
Said, Quote, about the Dodgers, I want to take them down.
I think beating a team like that, and becoming world champions, would be the most valuable thing in my life.
There’s an article on MLB.com.
Written by Michael Clare, a program friend and friend of the program, Ayako Okawa, who has it all laid out for us.
And, boy, does this make me like Tatsuya Imai.
This is a conversation that Imai was having with fellow Cebu Lions.
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Icon Daiki Matsuzaka, who knows a little something about pitching in Major League Baseball.
Coming from NPB to MLB with great fanfare.
The quotes here are about him basically like, uh, Not just I want to beat the Dodgers, saying, of course it would be cool to play with Ohtani, And so on, but beating them would be even more special.
He also has some very interesting quotes about OK, do you want to be, Not just do you want to be on the Dodgers, the best team with all these other Japanese players, But on the concept of playing with other Japanese players.
This is another thing that I think culturally, we’re left to trust those who know the language.
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And who understand the background of these individuals, about whether players come over Japan would prefer to be with other Japanese players, or not, Because we’ve gotten varying reports on, on, and, and I’m sure it’s, I’m sure it’s case by case.
Clearly, I think we’ve learned it is not.
It is not a one-size-fits-all situation.
And there is not one thing that determines whether they like you.
But in my, the quote here, again, I’m, I’m pulling from, From Yuri’s translation.
Uh, since they went to the U.S. before me, I could, if, If this is on the concept of if he were playing with more Japanese players in MLB.
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Since they went to the US before me, I could ask them questions, like, What did you do in this situation, right?
But actually, I don’t really desire that now.
I want to have a sense of survival.
There will be cultural differences, but part of what excites me is how Ill Figure out a way to get over these hurdles on my own.
So do we take that to mean there is a 0% chance he is signing with the Dodgers or the Giants Cubs, or who else has a Japanese player right now?
The Red Sox, Yoshida’s still on the Red Sox.
The Mets are saying, uh, still on the Mets, who knows?
The Angels with Kuchiki, right?
Like, OK, does that mean there’s 0% chance?
He’s signing with those teams?
No, can’t.
Let’s not go overboard.
But its a compelling piece of evidence that, if the situation is right, He might prefer to kind of go out on his own.