Newly signed Masahiro Tanaka on Saturday participated in his first official workout for the New York Yankees, drawing a huge crowd in Tamba Bay, Florida indicative of the public interest on the Yankees' $155-million man.
The 25-year old pitcher is one of the most highly decorated Japanese players ever to come to the Major League, leading the Rakuten Golden Eagles to its first Japan Series title. The 6-foot-2 Tanaka expressed disbelief at the media turnout for his first workout.
"Honestly, when I stepped out on the field today, I was very, very surprised how many media there were out there," Tanaka said as quoted by ESPN.com.
Tanaka threw 32 pitches during the workout.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said none of the pitches was thrown at full intensity. "I didn't think he was trying to do too much. I thought he had a good plan when he went out there today of what he was trying to do, and I thought he executed it."
When asked what he would remember best of his first day of training, the Japanese sensation said:
"Probably what I will remember is the four laps that we did at the end. It was pretty hard."
He also shared his thoughts on the attention he's getting. "As a player, I feel very honored to get this much attention. Some of the fans were cheering today and I was very happy to receive those cheers. It really feels like now I'm ready to go out there and start this whole thing. Everything is going to be a new experience for me, so I'm very looking forward to it."
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