Houston Astros starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai struggles to adjust to life living in America and playing in the MLB. He recently was just placed on the 15-day IL with arm fatigue. The Astros received positive news about Imai when tests were optimistic about the state of his arm.
However, Imai detailed his difficulties with life days prior. He said “[he’s] just not able to adjust to the American lifestyle, other than baseball. Baseball and outside of baseball. That’s probably the reason [for his arm fatigue].”
Imai describes having trouble acclimating to the lifestyle of America specifically different dinner times and various weather conditions.
“For example, the travel is different from Japan. The timing when the players eat. In Japan, when they get back to the hotel, they eat their dinner. Here, the players eat at the stadium.”
After his start against the Seattle Mariners, Imai complained about the tough texture of the mound at T-Mobile Park. He also noted that it is unusual to pitch in cold weather in Japan.
Imai’s Complaints Track Back to Spring Training
GettyTatsuya Imai’s comments about the differences between American and Japan have been consistent since Spring Training.
Imai’s struggles can be traced back to Spring Training. Because of the contrasts in the baseball used in Japan from America, he has been resistant to using his fastball. Another key discrepancy is the mound.
He said, “There’s a difference in the slope of the mound compared to Japan, so I’ve definitely felt that. I want to get on that as soon as possible and make adjustments so the next time I go on the mound and deal with the slope again, I can adjust to it better.”
However, these frustrations go beyond just technical variations between the Nippon Professional Baseball league and the MLB. He talked about the emotional changes in the games as well.
He said, “I went out there looking to have fun, but with that said, it’s a different environment from the time it was in Japan. I was kind of nervous, which may have been a bad thing. But it was just a different atmosphere for me.”
Regardless of Why, Imai Needs to be Better
GettyTatsuya Imai has a 7.27 ERA so far this MLB season.
Imai may be feeling the pressure to succeed in the MLB, but the Astros need him to improve if they are going to have a successful season in 2026. With injuries to Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco, and Cristian Javier, the amount of reliable arms in Houston is dwindling.
Imai has a 7.27 ERA and 11 walks in 8.2 innings across three starts. Regardless of the texture of the baseball and the hardness of the mound, Imai needs to discover what will help him adjust in the MLB.
There is a history of Japanese players having trouble conforming to the MLB. However, we have seen in recent history players like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto be massively successful immediately when coming to America. Both of those players are superstars, but Imai has an excellent track record of success before coming to the MLB. He had a 3.15 ERA across 159 starts of NPB play.
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