Rakuten Golden Eagles star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka poses with his grand prix trophy during an award ceremony of the Japan Professional Sports Award in Tokyo on Friday. All major league teams have been notified that the 30-day period to sign the 25-year-old right-hander has begun. Clubs have until Jan 24 to attempt to reach an agreement with the ace.
© Japan TodayTanaka looks ahead
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ben4short
Nice shot. The contrast is striking between his boyish good looks and the competitive ruthlessness in his heart. With his pitching savvy and dazzling split-finger fastball, Tanaka should kick some serious butt in the US. Sure hope so.
Mitch Cohen
I think Tanaka will take MLB by storm, surpassing all Japanese pitchers in the MLB before him. And that is saying a lot.
Pandabelle
Great picture.
paulinusa
He looks happy. And he could be happier if given the highest MLB contract of any Japanese player.
sillygirl
@mitch Cohen. I hope that will be true. He doesn't seem to be full of himself. Time will tell. Hope he goes to the Yankees.
highball7
Let the bidding begin! 24-0, that's crazy. Less than 1.30 ERA!!!
Every MLB team can use Ma-kun as an ace in the lineup. If the Dodgers can get him, holy smokes with Kershaw, Greinke, Ryu, and Tanaka. That's one of the best pitching lineup in decades.
Mike DeJong
Tanaka will last maybe a year or two in the Majors. Then his arm will give out. All the overwork he experienced in Japan will come back to haunt him.
ben4short
Mike DeJong, glad to see we have a pitching arm expert among us. Perhaps you should share your insight with the MLB team that's gonna spend over $100 M on a pitcher who, according to you, will be gone after a year or two. Don't you think the MLB clubs are fully aware of his pitch count for every single of his seven years in Japan, and don't you think they are going to do everything in their power to give him adequate rest and keep him healthy in order to protect their investment?
mshrktn
I saw him in Koshien. My classmates lost against them at that time. I know he can do. Just let him do what he wants.
wtfjapan
smiling all the way to the bank. oh but most do it for the love of the sport not the cash...no?
The Original Wing
I expect Tanaka to be a fair #2 pitcher on an MLB team, but not a star, and certainly nowhere as good as Darvish. There are 2 big reasons to think that Tanaka won't be anywhere near as good as Darvish in the MLB. Tanaka has thrown more innings than Darvish when they both made the move to North America, and the excessive overwork on his arm (as is the case for all Japanese pitchers) is already showing - his strikeout rate has dropped each of the past 2 seasons. That's a bad sign for any pitcher, but it's particularly worrying for someone who's still only 25 years old. The second reason is that Tanaka has small hands for an MLB pitcher, and that'll be a problem when he switches because the MLB ball is very slightly larger than the NPB ball. The difference of size changes the grip, which makes a big difference on the overall pitching mechanics. That's a big problem for someone whose best pitch is a splitter. That said, I don't think he'll fail - he's just not going to be a major star. Bring on the negative votes.
sillygirl
It IS too bad that these kids in Japanese yakyu have almost ruined their arms by the time they are in their mid to late 20s. I like him and wish him the best.
toshiko
If Dodgers or Angels can sign him, he will be very well taken care of in Sunny Southern California. Beside chance of his team to be in WS. Rangers is not rich now. He will be used as a starter pitcher. in any team. Listen on sport channel gossips with pitching coaches. He will be happy in MLB/ He will see Nintendo big banners on both siode behind of hitters everywhere, Left in English, Right in Japanese kanjis.