Tatsuya Imai comments on the Dodgers: 'I want to beat them!'

Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tatsuya Imai have several things in common. The right-handers each pitched in Japan’s famed Koshien Tournament (a nationwide high school baseball tournament that draws attention similar to the Super Bowl) before being selected at the top of the subsequent NPB Draft by the Seibu Lions. 

The pair were even teammates with the Lions for the 2020 and 2021 seasons following Matsuzaka’s return to Japan. 

Matsuzaka and Imai developed a quick friendship while teammates, which was evident in an interview the duo gave earlier this month on Japanese TV’s “Hodo Station” (video via Reddit; expanded translation via MLB.com’s Michael Clair and Ayako Oikawa). The pair talked for more than seven minutes about their respective careers and Imai’s goals with his pending move to MLB. 

Where might Tatsuya Imai sign? 

Naturally, Matsuzaka’s first question cut right to the point:  

“Matsuzaka: Will it be a strong team like the Dodgers who are already well positioned to win the World Series? Or do you want to defeat the Dodgers? What are you imagining?

“Imai: Nah! If anything, I want to beat them (the Dodgers)! (laughs) Of course, I’d enjoy playing alongside Ohtani, Yamamoto and Sasaki, but winning against a team like that and becoming a world champion would be the most valuable thing in my life. If anything, I’d rather take them down.” 

It turns out, the sentiment is yet another area the duo has in common, as Matsuzaka followed up by explaining that he went through a similar thought process when he first came to MLB. There was an appeal in joining Ichiro Suzuki with the Seattle Mariners, but Matsuzaka ultimately chose the Boston Red Sox in part because he “wanted to challenge himself to beat Ichiro.” 

Tatsuya Imai doesn't want to play with another Japanese player 

Someone on set asked Matsuzaka where Imai should sign. After pausing for a moment, he smiled and suggested that Imai should join the Red Sox, one of several clubs already believed to have some level of interest. Though that might pose a concern, as Imai suggested that he might prefer to join a team that doesn’t already have a Japanese player on its roster. 

“If there were another Japanese player on the same team, I could just ask them about anything, right? But that’s actually not what I’m looking for. In a way, I want to experience that sense of survival. When I come face-to-face with cultural differences, I want to see how I can overcome them on my own — that’s part of what I’m excited about.” 

Boston already has Masataka Yoshida. The Los Angeles Dodgers, of course, have Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaski. The Chicago Cubs have Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki. The San Diego Padres have Yu Darvish. Yusei Kikuchi is with the Los Angeles Angels and Kodai Senga is (still) with the New York Mets. If Imai is serious about “survival mode,” then that’s six clubs who could be out of the mix already. 

The 27-year-old was 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA and 178 strikeouts over 163.2 IP this past season with Seibu, winning the NPB’s Sawamura Award. The Lions officially posted Imai on Nov. 19. MLB teams have 45 days (or until Jan. 2) to sign him.