Yankees of Major League Baseball. From 2007 through 2013, he played for the Tohoku Rakuten

Golden Eagles in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League.

Tanaka led his high school team to a championship in the National High School Baseball tournament

as a junior for Komazawa University Tomakomai High School in 2005 and a runner-up berth

in the same tournament as a senior in 2006. Tanaka was the Eagles' first-round pick in

the 2006 NPB high school draft and was the team's ace until the end of the 2013 season.

From 2012 to 2013, he won 26 consecutive decisions, which broke an NPB record.

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

alongside current Yomiuri Giants shortstop Hayato Sakamoto, who was then the team's ace

pitcher and Tanaka's batterymate. Tanaka and Sakamoto hit third and fourth in the lineup,

respectively. He went on to play for the Takarazuka Boys while attending Itami Municipal Matsuzaki

Junior High School, being used at both pitcher and catcher because of his strong throwing

arm. He was chosen to the Junior All-South Kansai team in his third year of junior high—the

equivalent of ninth grade in the United States. High school career

2004 – spring 2006 Tanaka moved on to Komazawa University Tomakomai

High School in Hokkaidō, now playing solely as a pitcher for the team. Armed with a fastball

that sat in high-80s and a hard slider, he led his team all the way to a championship

in the 87th National High School Baseball tournament held at Koshien Stadium in the

summer of his second year. His very last pitch of the tournament was clocked at 150 km/h,

the first time a pitcher had ever clocked that speed as a junior in the history of the

tournament. Tanaka, already a highly coveted talent by NPB scouts, was chosen to the Japanese

team that would play in the IBAF AAA World Junior Championships following the tournament

and contributed to the team's title. Now given the uniform number 1 and officially

appointed the team's ace pitcher, Tanaka led Tomakomai High to a regional title as well

as a championship in the Meiji Jingu Tournament that fall, hitting home runs in four straight

games in the latter himself. While his team was viewed as the favorite going into the

78th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament to be held the following spring,

Tomakomai High was forced to withdraw from the tournament because of allegations of misconduct

of some of the players. Summer 2006

Tomakomai High earned a berth in the 88th National High School Baseball Championship

that summer. Tanaka managed to lead them to their third consecutive appearance in the

tournament finals despite being ill prior to the tournament. The team's coach did not

start Tanaka in the finals against Waseda Jitsugyo High School, opting to rest him due

to the number of innings he had thrown in the last few games, but he ended up sending

Tanaka to the mound in relief midway through the third inning. Tanaka held Waseda Jitsugyo

to just one run and struck out 10, but the opponent's ace, Yuki Saito, held Tomakomai

High to one run himself on seven hits. The game remained tied 1-1 after 15 innings, forcing

a rematch as per tournament regulations. It was the first time in 37 years that the tournament

finals had resulted in a rematch.

In the rematch that ensued the next day, Tanaka again came on in relief in the bottom of the

first, but Tomakomai High lost to Waseda Jitsugyo despite his pitching the remaining 71⁄3

innings of the game. The pitchers' duel between Tanaka and Saito in the finals and the rematch

that followed became on the most defining moments in all of sports in Japan that year.

Tanaka, dealing with intestinal inflammation, threw 742 pitches in 522⁄3 innings in the

tournament, striking out 54 and walking 20 with a 2.22 earned run average.

Both pitchers were chosen to play for Japan in the U.S.-Japan High School Baseball Tournament.

Tomakomai High and Waseda Jitsugyo High met one last time in the finals of the Nojigiku

Hyogo National Sports Festival, the last tournament of Tanaka's high school career, but Tomakomai

High was shut out by Saito and lost to Waseda Jitsugyo, finishing second yet again.

Aftermath Tanaka struck out 458 batters over the course

of his high school career, surpassing Daisuke Matsuzaka's previous national high school

record of 423 with Yokohama Senior High School. He also hit 13 home runs during those three

years. After rival Yuki Saito announced that he would

not be declaring for the upcoming draft, opting to go on to Waseda University instead, Tanaka

became the single most highly touted high school player eligible to be picked. On September

25, in the 2006 NPB high school draft, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, Orix Buffaloes,

Yokohama BayStars and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles all selected Tanaka with their first-round

picks. The Golden Eagles drew the winning straw, signing him to a base salary of 15

million yen, a signing bonus of 100 million yen and additional performance-based incentives,

the equivalent of what a first-round college or industrial league-player would normally

receive, on November 2. He was also given the uniform number 18, which typically denotes

a team's staff ace in Japanese professional baseball.

Professional career Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

2007 Tanaka was named to the Eagles' ichigun roster

during Spring Training of his rookie year, and made his professional debut on March 29

2007 against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as the starting pitcher, but gave up six runs

on six hits and a walk in 12⁄3 innings. Though he was not charged with a loss, as

the Eagles made a furious comeback to tie the game up in the fourth, he was seen sitting

in the dugout in tears after being taken out of the game.

On April 18, in a home game against the Hawks, he held the team to two runs and struck out

13 in a complete game win, the first win of his professional career. He became the first

pitcher since current Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish to throw a complete game shutout as

a rookie out of high school on June 13 in an interleague game against the Chunichi Dragons.

He also became the first pitcher since Daisuke Matsuzaka in 1999 to be voted the starter

of the NPB All-Star Game as a rookie out of high school, starting in Game 2 on July 22

and clocking a personal-high 153 km/h. On July 10, Tanaka recorded his 100th strikeout

of the season in just 962⁄3 innings, tying the record for the fastest to reach 100 career

strikeouts held by former Hanshin Tigers pitcher Yutaka Enatsu. He became the first pitcher

to record double-digit wins in Eagles franchise history in a win against the Saitama Seibu

Lions on August 31. Tanaka finished the year with an 11-7 record

and a 3.82 ERA, faring particularly well against the Hawks. His 196 strikeouts were the second-most

by any pitcher in either league and the fourth-most as a rookie out of high school in Japanese

professional baseball history. He was named the Pacific League Most Valuable Rookie, the

first player out of high school to win the award since Matsuzaka.

2008 In 2008, Tanaka was penciled into the front

end of the Eagles' starting rotation for the second straight season. He earned his first

career win at Sapporo Dome, located in his former home of Hokkaido, in a win against

the Fighters on May 4, drawing cheers from the crowd despite pitching for the away team.

He came on in relief for the first time in his career in an interleague game against

the Hiroshima Carp on June 22, recording his first career save.

Tanaka was able to make only 24 starts, missing playing time because of both a brief rehab

stint in the minors due to inflammation in his shoulder and his participation in the

2008 Beijing Olympics as a member of the Japanese national team. He entered the last game of

the regular season against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks with nine wins, looking to both earn

his tenth win of the season and prevent the Eagles from finishing in last place. While

he held the Hawks to no runs over nine innings, Hawks starter Toshiya Sugiuchi equaled his

performance and Tanaka fell short of his goal of reaching double-digit wins. The Eagles

eventually won in walk-off fashion in the twelfth inning, finishing one game ahead of

the Hawks for fifth place in the regular season standings.

2009 Tanaka got off to an utterly dominant start

to the 2009 season, pitching a four-hit complete game shutout against the Hawks in his first

start on April 7, a one-run complete game win against the Chiba Lotte Marines on April

14, a three-hit complete game shutout against the Marines on April 22, and an 11-strikeout,

one-run complete game win against the Fighters on April 29. The fourth win marked the 1500th

of Eagles manager Katsuya Nomura's career and made Tanaka the first pitcher to start

the season with four consecutive complete game wins since Satoru Komiyama and Shigetoshi

Hasegawa both accomplished the feat in 1993. However, though he went 4–0 with a 0.50

ERA for the month of April, striking out 37 and allowing just 24 baserunners in 36 innings

and winning Pacific League monthly Most Valuable Player honors for the first time in his career,

he was removed from the active roster on April 30 with a minor shoulder strain as a result

of fatigue. He returned to the team on May 13, pitching seven innings of three run-ball

against the Fighters for his fifth straight win to start the season.

2013 On September 13, 2013, Tanaka set a new NPB

record with his 21st consecutive win in the 2013 season in a 6–2 complete game victory

over the Orix Buffaloes at home in Sendai at Kleenex Stadium. This victory was Tanaka's

25th consecutive win, including his final four starts in 2012. It also eclipsed the

longest consecutive winning streak for MLB pitchers, set at 24 by Carl Hubbell in the

1936 and 1937 seasons. On September 26, 2013, Tanaka relieved to close the last 2⁄3 inning.

With a one run lead, he sealed the victory and the Eagles' first Pacific League title.

It was his first appearance as a closer in the 2013 season.

He ended the regular season with a 24–0 record and 1.27 ERA, tops in both leagues.

He also became the second post-war starting pitcher with an undefeated season with minimum

innings required for an ERA title since Shigekuni Mashiba.

Tanaka went on to win his second Sawamura Award as the Golden Eagles competed for their

first Japan Series title. Taking postseason games into account, his 2013 record stood

at 30–0 on October 28, 2013. New York Yankees

Tanaka was repeatedly scouted by MLB representatives during the 2013 season. Through the revised

posting system, Rakuten posted Tanaka to MLB during the 2013-14 offseason at a fee of $20

million. On December 26, 2013, all 30 MLB teams were notified that the 30-day period

to sign the 25-year-old right-hander began at 8 a.m. EST. Clubs had until 5 p.m. EST

on January 24, 2014, to reach an agreement with Tanaka, who is represented by agent Casey

Close. During the month-long period following Tanaka's

posting, teams reported to be serious suitors included the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs,

Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Houston Astros. On January

22, 2014, Tanaka signed a seven-year contract worth $155 million with the Yankees. The contract

contains an opt-out clause after the fourth year and a full no-trade clause.

2014 Tanaka made his Major League debut on April

4, 2014 against the Toronto Blue Jays. The first batter he faced was ex-Yankee Melky

Cabrera, in which whom he allowed a home run to after throwing his first 3 pitches. Tanaka

finished the game pitching 7 innings with 8 strikeouts but allowing 3 runs on 6 hits

and got his first career win in the MLB as the Yankees won against the Blue Jays 7-3.

Tanaka made his first career homestand start on April 9, 2014 against the Baltimore Orioles

where he struck out 10 in 7 innings but surrendered a 3-run homer by Jonathan Schoop. He received

a no-decision in his first home start as the Yankees lost the game 4-5. During an interleague

game against the New York Mets on May 14, 2014, Tanaka recorded his first Major League

hit off of Jose Valverde and pitched his first complete game in the Majors as the Yankees

shut out the Mets 4-0. Tanaka started well going 6-0 until he took his first career loss

in the MLB on May 20, 2014 as the Yankees lost to the Chicago Cubs 1-6. It was Tanaka’s

first regular season loss in any professional baseball league since August 19, 2012. The

next month, Tanaka recorded his 100th strikeout of the season, along with another complete

game. He nearly completed a shutout in the same game, but the first two runs of the game

were earned off of a two run homer in the 9th inning by Robinson Canó, who left the

Yankees in the offseason to join the Seattle Mariners. Tanaka quickly struck out the next

two batters to win the game. Tanaka also became the first Yankees rookie to win 12 games by

the All-Star break. Tanaka was voted as a reserve for The American League for the Major

League Baseball All-Star Game. He and teammate Dellin Betances are the first Yankees rookie

pitchers to earn an All-Star Game nod since Spec Shea in 1947. After losing to the Cleveland

Indians 3-5 on July 8, 2014, Tanaka began to experience discomfort in his right arm.

On July 9, 2014, Tanaka was placed on the disabled list due to right elbow inflammation.

An MRI revealed that his elbow had a partially torn UCL. Hoping to avoid surgery, Tanaka

received a cortisone shot and rested his elbow for 6 weeks. Tanaka rehabbed by throwing in

the outfield and playing in simulated games. Tanaka returned on September 21 against the

Blue Jays. In his final start of the 2014 season against the Boston Red Sox on September

27, 2014, Tanaka lasted only 1.2 innings giving up 7 runs as the Yankees lost to the Red Sox

4-10. In 20 starts of his first Major League season in 2014, Tanaka posted a 2.77 ERA with

141 strikeouts and a 13-5 record. International career

Tanaka was the only player to be chosen to the national team to play in the 2008 Beijing

Olympics from the Eagles, becoming the youngest Japanese baseball player to play in the Olympics

as a pro in the history of the event. He pitched in relief in Japan's first game against Cuba

in the group stage, throwing one scoreless inning and striking out three. While Tanaka

saw limited playing time as a middle reliever for the team, he recorded a 0.00 ERA and the

highest strikeout rate of any pitcher on the team.

He also played for Japan in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, coming on in relief for

Satoshi Komatsu midway through the sixth inning of the seeding match against South Korea in

the second round but surrendering a home run to Lee Bum-Ho. He pitched in the semi-finals

against the United States, giving up a triple to Jimmy Rollins but striking out David Wright