Cubs' Shota Imanaga just did something no pitcher has done since World War II

I was told my reaction to Shota Imanaga's big league debut a few weeks back was a 'wild overreaction' and that I needed to 'calm down'. Well, here we are and guess what? It's been more of the same from Imanaga: one dominant start after another and, in the process, the left-hander has put up numbers we haven't seen in nearly 80 years.

Ferriss, who made his big league debut with the Boston Red Sox in 1945, notched back-to-back All-Star appearances in his first two seasons in the league, amassing 46 wins and 538 2/3 innings - both staggering numbers by today's standards - in the process. The right-hander finished his rookie campaign with a 21-10 mark, 2.96 ERA and a fourth-place finish in MVP voting.

Unfortunately, Ferriss' playing career lasted just six years - but it was an eventful run. In addition to his standout rookie performance and two All-Star selections, he also made a pair of starts in the 1946 World Series against the Cardinals, allowing just three runs over 13 1/3 innings of work. He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002.

Cubs' Shota Imanaga is looking like the best signing of the offseason

To take that Imanaga's performance so far this season one step further, since earned runs became official in 1913, no Chicago Cubs pitcher has a lower ERA in his first 5 career starts than Imanaga. He's been exactly what Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins believed he could be when they inked him to a four-year, $53 million deal this offseason - and has exceeded virtually all of the external expectations in the process.

With Justin Steele, the fifth-place finisher in NL Cy Young voting a year ago, going down on Opening Day, the wheels could have come off this starting rotation quickly, especially with Jameson Taillon not making his first start of the year until April 19. But Javier Assad and Ben Brown stepped up and Imanaga has been a bona fide ace, rather than a guy getting his feet under him in his first MLB season.

We all knew Imanaga has been outstanding - but to do something in this game that hasn't been done since the end of World War II (and, coincidentally, the last time prior to 2016 the Cubs reached the World Series) is worth stepping back and taking note of because it's pretty incredible.