The Los Angeles Angels announced on February 21 that the first start of the regular season will be handed over to Japanese left-handed Yusei Kikuchi, which is the first time Kikuchi has been awarded the opening game starter since joining the United States. "I'm very happy and honoured and I hope we have a good start from the first game of the new season," he said through an interpreter in the Angel shirt. When asked about the adjustment of spring training, Kikuchi thought about it and said, "So far, so good, I have been told since January to prepare for the start of the season."

This year, the major leagues will have three Japanese pitchers in the opening game, including Dodger Yushin Yamamoto and Cub Left Pitcher Sebuta Imanaga. Yusei Kikuchi came to the U.S. earlier than all of them, he joined the Mariners in 2019 and later played for the Blue Jays, where his ERA of 4.57 is relatively average, and the advantage is that he is healthy enough to play consistently.

This is also the second time that the Angels have a Japanese pitcher as the opener after Shohei Ohtani in 2023. Last season, Shohei Ohtani left the Dodgers to join the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Angels suffered a miserable 63-99 loss in team history, missing the playoffs for 10 years. In addition to outfielder Mike Trout and third baseman Anthony Rendon, the highest-paid player is Kikuchi, who is expected to start as the team's ace.

The 33-year-old Hiroshi Kikuchi has played 166 games in six major league seasons in his career, with a record of 41 wins and 47 defeats and a defense rate of 4.57. Last year, he played for the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros, playing 22 games during the Blue Jays, with 4 wins and 9 losses, and a defense rate of 4.75, and his trade to the Astros at the end of July was a major turning point in Kikuchi's professional career, with a 5-1 loss and a 2.70 defense rate in 10 starts, helping the team dominate the American League West, and finally won a big contract in the free market for the Angels on a three-year, $63 million contract, which is equivalent to twice his original annual salary.

Commenting on his first career as a major league opener, Yusei Kikuchi said, "I'm very happy and honoured... But it's just a game. The most important thing is to stay fit for the full season, start 32 games and deliver good results, which is what I focus more on."

It's worth mentioning that the major leagues began requiring teams to announce their opening game starting pitchers in the final week of spring training two years ago, hoping to raise the buzz and anticipation of the opening game by uniformly releasing the news, but head coach Washington seems to have put the matter behind the clouds.