Ex-ace Masahiro Tanaka, Tohoku Rakuten Eagles Part Ways
16:55 JST, November 25, 2024
Veteran right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, facing a massive pay cut from the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, asked for and was granted his release Sunday from the team that he led to its lone Japan pro baseball championship.
The 36-year-old Tanaka, who spent seven seasons with the New York Yankees before rejoining Rakuten in 2021, requested his release after the club made an offer for next season that exceeded the limit of a 40% reduction for contracts over 100 million yen.
The right-hander appeared in just one Pacific League game this past season for the Eagles, and ended with no victories for the first time in his combined 18 seasons in Japan and the major leagues. He remains three wins short of a combined 200 for his career.
“I didn’t agree to a contract for next season and have decided to look for a new team,” Tanaka said in a video message on his YouTube channel. “My current condition is good and I am able to get in good training.”
Rakuten’s first-round draft pick in 2006 out of Komadai Tomakomai High School in Hokkaido, Tanaka had arguably the greatest-ever season for a pitcher in Japan in 2013, when he won a record 24 games to start the season and finished 24-0 in 28 starts with a 1.27 earned run average.
That year, he helped the Eagles win both their first-ever Pacific League pennant and Japan Series title since being founded in 2004.
The next year, Tanaka made the jump across the Pacific to the Yankees, where he posted double-digit wins in six of his seven seasons. Since returning to Rakuten, he compiled a 20-33 record over four seasons.
Tanaka has a career record in Japan of 119-68 with a 2.67 earned run average and 1,572 strikeouts in 1,778 innings.
"Sports" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Yuma Kagiyama Defends Title at NHK Trophy and Kaori Sakamoto Leads Japanese Sweep in Women’s Event
-
Kotozakura Claims 1st Career Title by Beating Hoshoryu in Kyushu Clash
-
Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia among 14 newcomers on baseball Hall of Fame ballot. Wagner tops holdovers
-
Yomiuri Giants, Hanshin Tigers to Face Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers; MLB Opener Games Cubs-Dodgers to be held on March 18, 19
-
Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, Hana Yoshida Sweep Gold in Finland GP
JN ACCESS RANKING
- Streaming Services Boost Anime Popularity Overseas; Former ‘Geeky’ Interest More Beloved Among Gen Z than 3 Major U.S. Sports
- Malaysia Growing in Popularity as Destination for Studying Abroad; British-style Education Available at Low Cost
- ‘Women Over 30 Would Have Uteruses Removed’; Remarks of CPJ Leader, Novelist Naoki Hyakuta Get Wide Attention
- APEC Leaders Vow to Maintain Free Trade System
- Neko Pitcher