Shōta shōved
Our new favorite Cub did not disappoint in his big league debut



Get more from Andy Dolan in the Substack appAvailable for iOS and AndroidGet the app
OK, so I know just enough Japanese to know that the accent over the o in Shōta would not work on the o in shōved, but whatever. I play Ghosts of Tsushima and watch Shogun so I know a few things.
What I know from watching Shōta make his big league debut yesterday is that his approach to pitching is unconventional and might not work against every team, but when it does, it’s awfully fun to watch.
Shōta spends a lot of time at the top of the zone, and is pumping fastballs in at 91-92 most of the time (occasionally 94). But save for the occasional bomb, it seems to really work.
He’s been unabashedly pandering to us since his introductory press conference when he learned enough English on the fly to recite a big chunk of “Go Cubs Go” and he told a charming (but mostly BS) story about asking Ben Zobrist for permission to wear his old number. Never mind that five players have worn 18 since Zobrist (an impressive bunch including Ryan Tepera, Frank Schwindel, Fucker Barnyard, Shane Greene and Jared Young). Shōta’s agent just happens to be Zobrist’s, so there was a nice little PR spin there. Because as even Marquee pointed out, the number 18 is used to denote the ace on Japanese pitching staffs, it’s why Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hiroki Kuroda, Kenta Maeda, Yusei Kikuchi, and now Yoshinobu Yamamoto have all worn it in the big leagues. Shōta’s not even the first Cubs’ Japanese pitcher to wear 18. The great Tsuyoshi Wada wore it for all five of his big league wins with the 2014 and 2015 Cubs.
Shōta’s pandering didn’t stop in the preseason. Yesterday he used “Chelsea Dagger” as his warmup song before the top of the first.
And you know what? I’m here for all of it. Give us more. Drop some references to Soldiers Field, yell at people for putting ketchup on a hot dog, explain that deep dish pizza isn’t representative of the best of Chicago pizza, tan yourself to a crisp like Chris Chelios, grow a Ditka mustache and tell Jeff Garlin to fuck off when he inevitably tries to act chummy with you before a game.