User:190 wins in US and Japan' Living Legend's fall is not unusual
The fall of the "living legend," who won 190 games in both Major League Baseball and Japanese professional baseball, is also unusual.
According to Japan's Full Count and Chunichi Sports, Masahiro Tanaka signed an annual salary of 260 million yen (approximately 2.3 billion won), a reduction of 215 million yen (approximately 1.9 billion won).
In fact, this is not the first time. A whopping 425 million yen (W3.9 billion) was cut ahead of the 2023 season. So Tanaka's annual salary last season was 475 million yen (W4.2 billion). According to the salary contract, Tanaka suffered a humiliating loss of 640 million yen (W5.8 billion) over two years.
Tanaka is a player who has been called a living legend, a living legend in the Japanese professional baseball world. Selected in the first round by the Rakuten Golden Eagles in the 2006 rookie draft, Tanaka won a total of 99 games in the Japanese professional baseball league. In particular, the 2013 season was incredible. He played in 28 games and set an amazing record of 24 wins and an unbeaten 1.27 ERA.
A bigger stage was waiting for Tanaka. The U.S.A. Tanaka, who successfully entered the Major League by signing a 155 million-dollar contract with the New York Yankees ahead of the 2014 season, stood out in 20 games in his first year with 13 wins, 5 losses and an ERA of 2.77. He also posted a career record of 75 wins, 43 losses and an ERA of 3.75 in 164 big league games (163 starts). He has achieved 10 wins in all six seasons in the U.S.
Tanaka, who became a free agent after the 2020 season, has chosen to return to Japan. The "parent team" has returned to the Rakuten team. However, Tanaka did not show up his old self. He had four wins, nine losses and a 3.01 ERA in 23 games in his first year in Japan. And in 2022, he fell short of expectations with a 9 wins, 12 losses and a 3.31 ERA in 25 games, including his personal longest losing streak.
Last year was no different. In 24 games, he has been on the decline with 7 wins, 11 losses and an ERA of 4.91. He has won 10 games in a row. There have been quite a few injuries. It is no exaggeration to say that the annual salary crisis was foreseen.
The full count is Tanaka's biggest concern is the drop in his strikeout rate. He's not an overwhelming pitcher, but he's maintained a low of 8.46 for seven seasons in the MLB. However, after returning to Rakuten, he's dropped from 7.28 to 6.96. → 5.23 plummeted. Last season was the worst of his career. There will be a drop in the number of pitches as he turns 35. Will he be able to survive by changing his pitching style? It's going to be a testing year
Attention is focusing on whether Tanaka, who accepted a two-year salary cut, will be able to make a comeback this season.
