"Like Koo Chang-mo, absent from WBC," pitcher 日80.2 billion, excuses after allowing four walks and three runs in two ⅓ innings, "Mound inconvenience, wind blowing."

*This content was translated by AI.

As in the case of NC Dinos' Koo Chang-mo (29), who failed to play in the World Baseball Classic due to his team's opposition, Imai Tatsuya (28, Houston Astros), who did not respond to the national team's call for adapting to the Major League (MLB), bowed his head due to poor control. What is more shocking is that he gave an explanation that is close to an excuse right after the game. He blamed adaptation to the mound and windy weather.

Imai started the away game against the Seattle Mariners in the "2026 MLB regular season" at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, on the 11th (Korea time), but was withdrawn with a disastrous performance of allowing three runs on one hit, four walks and one body in ⅓ innings.

Of the 37 pitches Imai threw on the day, only 17 strikes were made. Imai, who caused the crisis with the bases loaded with no outs from the first inning, even threw a ball that hit the pushing body and destroyed himself. With the bases loaded with one out, the Houston bench quickly replaced Imai. In the end, Houston lost 6-9.

After the game, Imai told local media that he blamed the environment for the ball control difficulties. According to multiple media outlets including The Athletic in the U.S., Imai said, "The mound at T-Mobile Park was too hard to adapt," adding, "The weather with a temperature of about 18 degrees and wind blowing like this is an environment that has never been experienced in Japan."

He also mentioned once again the slipperiness of Major League Baseball's official ball, which had suffered since the spring camp. Imai said, "In fact, in Japan, we only have to go around six stadiums, but the United States has to adapt to the mound of all 30 stadiums. We have to find a way," he added.

Imai, a right-hander from the Japanese national team who served as an ace for the NPB Seibu Lions, ambitiously challenged the big league in January by signing a three-year, $54 million (about KRW 8.2 billion) contract with Houston. During his time in Japan, he raised expectations by spraying fastballs exceeding 160km, and he was so confident that he even included the opt-out clause by shouting "Tado Dodgers."

In particular, Imai refused to join the Japanese national team at the joining ceremony in January. Public opinion in Japan about Imai was also not good. It is similar to Koo Chang-mo, who failed to come forward due to opposition from his team NC Dinos in March.

He focused on adapting to the Major League without playing until the WBC, but Imai's regular season performance is disastrous. So far, he has allowed 11 walks in three games and eight ⅔, and his ERA has soared to a whopping 7.27. The strike rate among all pitches is 54.4%, far below the Major League average (62.8%). Imai has allowed an average of only three walks per nine innings in the NPB over the past two seasons (337 innings), but he is showing a completely different appearance.

Houston catcher Christian Vazquez, who received the Imai ball himself, said, "It looked the same in terms of the pitching mechanism. But I came in on a course that was too far from the strike zone," he said. Imai said, "I had a lot of injuries to team pitchers, but I didn't play my role properly. That's the saddest part," he said.

Currently, Houston's main starters, including Hunter Brown and Christian Javier, are out due to injuries. The team's situation is too desperate for Imai, who invested a large amount of money in anticipation of an "Ace-class" performance, to blame the environment. If he fails to prove it with "ability" rather than "excuse," the gaze toward him is expected to become colder. The Athletic pointed out, "It is simply a disaster for Houston to have no other choice but to correct this."

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*This content was translated by AI.