Masahiro Tanaka will never be Yu Darvish. But, he won't be Hideki Irabu either.
Tanaka, the Japanese superstar who signed a seven-year, $155 million contract with the New York Yankees this off-season, is the latest in a series of Japanese pitchers to pitch with the Yankees. Hiroki Kuroda, the most recent Japanese hurler to pitch in the Bronx, is 27-24, 3.31 ERA in two seasons with the Yankees.
Fans and analysts alike are comparing Tanaka to another Japanese superstar, Yu Darvish, who in two Major League seasons is already a two-time all-star. He led the MLB in strikeouts last seasons with 277, while pitching just over 209 innings.
Tanaka did have great success in Japan, winning 99 games in seven seasons to the tune of a 2.30 ERA. Last season, Tanaka went 24-0 with a minuscule 1.27 ERA. Yet, despite the great success, Yankee fans should not be quick to judge Tanaka if he starts out shaky.
Think of it this way. How would you feel if a multiple billion dollar company gave you a luxurious contract, send you to a different country with the hopes of millions of fans on your shoulders? How would you feel if every move you made was subject to criticism? That is the transition Tanaka is making. Yankee fans can't and shouldn't expect Tanaka to throw a perfect game every start.
"There's growing pains," Brian Cashman said last week in regards to Tanaka. "I just want to make sure I remind everybody, even though they don't want to hear it."
Cashman is right. Yankee fans do not want to hear the term "growing pains" associated with Tanaka, or any part of the 2014 club. Just look at past Japanese pitchers in the Bronx. Aside from Kuroda, Japanese pitchers have not had great success for the Yankees. Hideki Irabu, known as "the other Hideki" by Yankee fans, went 29-20 with a 4.80 ERA in three seasons with the Bronx Bombers. He was especially heckled during his rookie season in 1997, going 5-4 to the tune of a 7.09 ERA.
In hindsight, Irabu was a better pitcher than another noted Japanese pitcher turned Yankee. Remember Kei Igawa? The now 34-year old right hander went 2-4, with a 6.66 ERA in just over one season with the Yankees. He then spent four seasons in the Yankees' minor league system before leaving the team and American baseball in 2011.
There is no guarantee Tanaka will be a success in the Major Leagues. However, he does have the potential of an all-star pitcher, just as Yu Darvish does and Hideki Irabu did. Tanaka as already earned praise by Yankees' President Randy Levine, who touted the 25-year old right hander as a "winner, who can handle anything!"
A "winner who can handle everything" is a different statement than the one offered by Cashman on ESPN Radio last week, who compared Tanaka to a "number three starter."
"If we get more than that, all the better. He's got a great deal of ability," said Cashman. There is definitely some unknown because of the transition. We scouted him extensively. Certainly, we look forward to adding him into the mix with the rest of our rotation. That's what we look at him as: A solid, potential No. 3 starter in the big leagues."
Time has yet to show if Tanaka can handle the Bleacher Creatures. It's possible he could crash and burn like other Japanese pitchers before him. It's unlikely he'll be just a "number three starter" because the media and fans won't allow it. There is no grey area for Yankee fans; either Tanaka wins or loses. I believe it is likely that he will be an all-star pitcher, capable of winning key games and leading the Yankees back into playoff contention.
Hello, I'm Masahiro Tanaka," Tanaka said in English during his Press Conference. "I'm very happy to be a Yankee."
Will he still feel that way a year from now? Only time will tell.
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