Waking up on Saturday morning, baseball fans in Japan were able to watch two homegrown pitching idols duel for the first time since 2011, when they still competed in the Nippon Professional Baseball league.
Perhaps a disclaimer should have been displayed before the nationally televised game in Japan between the Yankees and the Texas Rangers was broadcast at 9:47 a.m. local time: Do not adjust your set, that indeed is Masahiro Tanaka on the mound sporting a 6.34 earned run average.
This year, Tanaka has rarely resembled the pitcher who became a national sensation for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles from 2007-13 and later a major League All-Star upon joining the Yankees in 2014.