Masahiro Tanaka may be the New York Yankees undisputed No. 1 starter, but he’s way bigger in Japan than he’ll ever be here in the States. I’m talking Justin Bieber soon after the release of his first album big.
Still, at only 28 years of age, coming off a season in which he amassed a 14-4 record, 3.07 ERA, and 5.4 WAR, Tanaka has made the most of his short time pitching on baseball’s biggest stage. In three years time, Tanaka has erased the nightmare that was Hideki Irabu — and made Yankees fans long for another hitter like Hideki Matsui (Japan has been mostly good to this team).