Baseball has now become one of the famous sports in America after football, basketball, and hockey. The game has produced many stars including the Japanese starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka who plays for the New York Yankees of the Major League Baseball. He is a five-time All-Star and a two-time recipient of the Eiji Sawamura Award. Prior to that, he played for Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball League from 2007 to 2013. His contract with the Yankees was the 5th largest contract for a pitcher in MLB history.
Yankees believe 3 factors could because of Tanaka’s struggles
The Yankees are trying to figure out how to fix Masahiro Tanaka after another terrible outing against the Red Sox, the latest red flag in what has become a growing concern for the rotation.
Source: @japantimes.co.jp
So far they haven’t come to a conclusion, but according to pitching coach Larry Rothschild, the possible culprits include pitch-tipping, mechanics, and lower seams on the baseballs this season.
The last one is what Rothschild believes, saying it has had an impact on Tanaka’s splitter. “It’s the seams,” Rothschild said Friday at Fenway Park. “Overall, baseball. I’ve thought that for quite a while.” It’s given Tanaka “no margin for error,” according to Rothschild, and the Yankees have yet to find a solution.
“We have to find a grip that works,’’ Rothschild said before watching James Paxton gets lit up in the Yankees’ 10-5 loss on Friday night. “We’ve looked for it, but he’s felt it’s been more mechanical than the baseball. We’re looking at both sides of it. He made some adjustments [Friday] and hopefully, it’s gonna help.’’
Tanaka’s woes against the Red Sox have been especially pronounced. In his past two outings against the Yankees’ rivals, the right-hander allowed six runs in just two-thirds of an inning in London and then gave up 12 runs in just 3¹/₃ innings Thursday, leading the Yankees to look into potential pitch-tipping.
“If he had the splitter, I think it would have been different, but to what degree I don’t know,” Rothschild said of Tanaka’s recent issues versus Boston. “There’s clearly whether he’s tipping or whatever else is going on, I don’t know right now. We need to figure it out.”
Aaron Boone said the Yankees “have a lot of eyes” on whether Tanaka is tipping pitches. There was thought that’s what led to Luis Severino’s disastrous outing in their lopsided loss to the Red Sox in Game 3 of the ALDS last season when the right-hander allowed six runs in three-plus innings.
“Obviously, the Red Sox are very good at picking up any advantage you give them or seeing different things,” the manager said. “So it is something we try and stay on top of, obviously. We will continue to be all over that the best we can.’’
Who are the parents of Masahiro Tanaka?
Recalling his early life, Tanaka was born in Itami, a city in Hyogo, Japan. From an early age, he was passionate about playing baseball. He played baseball during Junior High School. He was born to Kazumi Tanaka and Hiroshi Tanaka. Regarding nationality, he is Japanese and his zodiac sign is Scorpio.
Regarding his education, Tanaka attended Komazawa University and Tomakomai High School in Hokkaido. He played outstandingly during his high school years. He had several records on his name.
When did Masahiro Tanaka pursue his baseball career?
- On March 29, 2007, Tanaka made his debut against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as a starting pitcher.
- In 2008, Tanaka bagged his first career win against the Fighters on May 4. Upon playing several years with the Hawks, Tanaka was acquired by MLB for the 2013-14 offseason at a fee of $20 million.
- Tanaka was the youngest player in Japan, who participated and performed in the 2008 Olympics. Moreover, he also represented Japan in the 2009 & 2013 World Baseball Classic respectively.
- On January 22, 2014, Tanaka agreed on a seven-year contract worth $155 million with the Yankees. On 4 April 2014, Tanaka made his major league debut against the Toronto Blue Jays.
- Tanaka is one of the prominent pitchers of the baseball world. He had an excellent command, posting of 1.6 and a K/BB (strikeout to walk ratio) of 5.07 in his MLB career.
- On February 14, 2017, Girardi named Tanaka the Opening Day starter for the third season in a row. Tanaka was dominant in Spring Training, allowing only one earned run in 23 2⁄3 innings for a 0.38 ERA. Making the Opening Day start against the Tampa Bay Rays on April 2, Tanaka lasted only 2 2⁄3 innings, allowing a career-high seven earned runs as the Yankees lost by a score of 7–3.
- Tanaka’s first start of 2018 went smoothly as he retired 13 batters in a row, struck out eight, and allowed one run, which was a solo homer by Randal Grichuk in 6+ innings as the Yankees won 4–2. While playing at Citi Field against the Mets on June 8, Tanaka scored his first career run after a sacrifice fly from Aaron Judge, but shortly after, he left the game after his hamstrings grew stiff.
- Due to Luis Severino’s rotator cuff injury, the Yankees tabbed Tanaka for his fourth Opening Day start on March 9, 2019. The start gave him the record for most Opening Day starts by a Japanese pitcher with four, passing Hideo Nomo. Tanaka would pitch 5 2⁄3 innings, allowing 6 hits and 2 runs while striking out 5 in the Yankees 7–2 win vs the Orioles.
- On July 6, Tanaka was named to the 2019 Major League Baseball All-Star Game as an injury replacement for Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman.
Source: @bleacherreport.com
Who is Masahiro Tanaka married to?
Reflecting on his personal life, Tanaka married his longtime girlfriend Mai Satoda after having an affair with her. They conducted their marriage in 2012. Satoda is a veteran singer and model. She is a member of the Hello! Project. The couple first met in January 2010, when Tanaka made his appearance on a Japanese TV show called “The Professional Baseball All-Stars Sports Festivals.”
On Feb 15, 2016, Monday Satoda gave birth to a boy, which weighs 3,360 grams at the time of birth. The child has fulfilled the dreams of the couple. Currently, the lovely couple happily resides with their child in Manhattan, United States.
How much is Masahiro Tanaka’s net worth?
Masahiro Tanaka has been outstanding since the inception of his career and has amassed huge wealth for himself. His seven-year contract with the New York Yankees was worth $155 million and was the biggest contract ever signed for an international free agent.
Additionally, the Yankees also paid a $20 million posting fee. However, Tanaka earns an annual salary of $22 million and he has a whopping net worth of $60 million. Asides from baseball, Tanaka also earns from other endorsements.
How tall is Masahiro Tanaka?
Observing his body physics, Tanka stands a height of 6 feet 2 inches and weighs around 98 kg. His hair color is black and he has brown eyes. His other body information is yet to be disclosed. In the case of disclosure, we will let you know.
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