Masahiro Tanaka

Masahiro Tanaka 田中 将大
Tanaka pitching for the New York Yankees in 2015
New York Yankees – No. 19
Starting pitcher
Born: (1988-11-01) November 1, 1988 (age 28) Itami, Hyōgo, Japan
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Professional debut
NPB: March 29, 2007, for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
MLB: April 4, 2014, for the New York Yankees
NPB statistics
Win–loss record	99–35
Earned run average	2.30
Strikeouts	1,238
WHIP	1.11
MLB statistics (through 2016 season)
Win–loss record	39–16
Earned run average	3.12
Strikeouts	445
WHIP	1.04
Teams
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (2007–2013) New York Yankees (2014–present)
Career highlights and awards
NPB Pacific League Rookie of the Year (2007) Pacific League MVP (2013) 6× NPB All-Star (2007–2009, 2011–2013) 2× Eiji Sawamura Award (2011, 2013) 2× NPB wins champion (2011, 2013) 2× NPB ERA champion (2011, 2013) NPB strikeout champion (2012) 2× Best Nine Award (2011, 2013) 3× Golden Glove Award (2011–2013) Japan Series champion (2013) MLB All-Star (2014)

Masahiro Tanaka

Medal record
Men's baseball
Representing  Japan
World Baseball Classic
	2009 Los Angeles	Team

NPB

MLB

Masahiro Tanaka (田中 将大, Tanaka Masahiro^?, born November 1, 1988) is a Japanese professional baseball starting pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). From 2007 through 2013, he played for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) Pacific League.

Tanaka led his high school team to a championship in the National High School Baseball tournament as a junior for Komazawa University Tomakomai High School in 2005 and a runner-up berth in the same tournament as a senior in 2006. Tanaka was the Eagles' first-round pick in the 2006 NPB high school draft and was the team's ace until the end of the 2013 season. From 2012 to 2013, he won 26 consecutive decisions, which broke an NPB record.

Tanaka was born in Itami, a city in Hyōgo, Japan. He began playing baseball in the first grade as a catcher for the Koyanosato Tigers (a Little League team) alongside current Yomiuri Giants shortstop Hayato Sakamoto, who was then the team's ace pitcher and Tanaka's batterymate. Tanaka and Sakamoto hit third and fourth in the lineup, respectively. He went on to play for the Takarazuka Boys while attending Itami Municipal Matsuzaki Junior High School, being used at both pitcher and catcher because of his strong throwing arm. He was chosen to the Junior All-South Kansai team in his third year of junior high—the equivalent of ninth grade in the United States.