About Masahiro Tanaka
Masahiro Tanaka (田中 将大, Tanaka Masahiro; born November 1, 1988) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in NPB for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. From 2007 through 2013, he played for the Eagles in NPB. Tanaka was posted by the Eagles after the 2013 season to be signed with the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball (MLB) and signed a seven-year, $155 million contract, the fifth-largest deal ever given to a pitcher at the time. He made his major league debut in 2014 and played for the Yankees through the 2020 season, before deciding to return to Japan. Tanaka has said that he decided to return to Japan partly due to anti-Asian racism in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tanaka was the Eagles' first-round pick in the 2006 NPB amateur player draft. From 2012 to 2013, he won 26 consecutive decisions, which set a new NPB record. In MLB, Tanaka was the Yankees' Opening Day starter for four seasons and was twice named an All-Star. == Early life == Tanaka was born in Itami, a city in Hyōgo, Japan. He began playing baseball in the first grade as a catcher for the Koyanosato Tigers (a Little League team) alongside current Yomiuri Giants shortstop Hayato Sakamoto, who was then the team's ace pitcher and Tanaka's batterymate.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.