Shota Boys

The Shota Boys (or Shota Shirts) was a fan phenomenon to support the Japanese baseball pitcher Shōta Imanaga (今永 昇太, Imanaga Shōta). The sensation became viral during the MLB Chicago Cubs vs Los Angeles Dodgers series on April 7, 2024 (April 8 in Japan) when six former and current Joliet West High School students went shirtless, spelling out “SHOTA!” on the Wrigley Field stands; Imanaga noticed and tossed the ball back into the crowd.[1] Their stunt was featured on the Marquee Network (the exclusive local television home of the Chicago Cubs) and widely shared across platforms such as X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and LINE.[2]

Viral spread

In the days following the stunt, media from Barstool Sports to MLB’s official outlets covered the story. In his third start of the season, Imanaga limited the Seattle Mariners to one unearned run over 5⅓ innings in a 4–1 victory, an on-field performance coupled with his use of music and custom apparel that spurred the Shota Boys tribute.[3] About two weeks later, Chicago’s Obvious Shirts reached out on X to propose gifting each member of the Shota Boys a personalized shirt with their corresponding letter. Cole Pearson, the “S”, received a message indicating Imanaga himself wanted to present the shirts in person.[4] On April 21, 2024, the six friends—Cole Pearson, Zack Chignoli, Joe Lukancic, Matt Marchiniak, Casey Tyrell, and Riley Schelling—were featured on MLB.com as they arrived at Wrigley Field to accept their shirts from Imanaga.[1][4]

The “O” in “SHOTA”, Joe Lukancic, was profiled by CBS Chicago as an Aurora University freshman who led Division III in hits and painted himself as one of the original Shota Boys at Wrigley Field, adding more depth to the fan phenomenon.[5][6]

More recently, the Shota Boys appeared in the Chicago Cubs’ promotional spot for the season opener in Japan. This 15-second clip features Riley Schelling—the fan known for his exclamation mark—and was posted to the team’s official X account on April 14 (April 15 in Japan), achieving nearly 280,000 views in one day.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c DeSantis, Monica (2024-04-15). "Showing Up Shirtless And Spelling Out Shota Goes Viral But There's More". 1340 WJOL. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
  2. ^ a b "「で、脱ぐんかーい」今永を熱烈応援「SHOTA！ボーイズ」のお約束行動にSNS上でツッコミ連発！". GetNavi web ゲットナビ (in Japanese). 2024-04-26. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  3. ^ "Cubs' Shota Imanaga already connecting with fan base through music, shirts and on-field performance". Chicago Sun-Times. 2024-04-14. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  4. ^ a b "Cubs All Access Shorts: Shota Shirts". MLB.com. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  5. ^ CBS Chicago (April 2024). "Aurora University freshman stars at plate and as "Shota Boy" at Wrigley Field". Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  6. ^ 水次祥子. "今永昇太を起用した今季のカブスCMが話題、主演はあのショウタボーイズの１人 - ＭＬＢ : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
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