Masahiro Tanaka Joins the Giants! Reunites with Childhood Friend Sakamoto

December 16, 2024 5:00 AM It was revealed on the 15th that the Giants will acquire pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (36), who became a free agent from Rakuten. The right-handed pitcher, who has a total of 197 wins in Japan and the United States, ended this season winless in just one appearance for the first team, but the team believes he can make a comeback and is conducting a full-scale investigation. Manager Shinnosuke Abe (45), who was currently on a victory trip to Hawaii, had also expressed his desire to join, and sources said that he himself has made up his mind to join the team. He has 15 wins this season and is expected to be a breath of fresh air to the pitching staff, which will be leaving without Sugano, who will be trying his hand at the majors as a free agent overseas next season. Following the acquisition of former Chunichi Dragons closer, Raidel Martinez, the Giants have made further major reinforcements. It has been revealed that the team will acquire former Rakuten player Masahiro Tanaka. According to sources, he has already made up his mind to join the Giants. A super big name who is just three wins away from reaching 200 wins in Japan and the United States will be joining the team in a surprise move. Due to the effects of surgery on his right elbow in October of last year, he only made one appearance for the first team this season, his 18th year in Japan and the United States combined, but he gradually regained the power of his original fastball in second-team games toward the end of the season and made steady progress. His departure from Rakuten was announced on November 23rd, and negotiations will begin in December. The Giants have been closely monitoring developments and conducting a full-scale investigation. Manager Abe, who is currently on a victory trip in Hawaii, had also been eager to acquire him for some time. “With Tomoyuki gone, we will no longer have a leader-like figure for the pitching team. Because we have a proven track record. We have a lot of young pitchers, so maybe we need him in that respect,” he said, believing that if he were to join the team he could become a pillar to replace Sugano, who is aiming to play in the majors. He also gave his stamp of approval for a comeback, saying, “I think he’ll probably return (when he’s in good form).” There are high expectations for the right-handed pitcher, who was his battery mate in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The Giants and Masahiro Tanaka bring to mind the 2013 Japan Series. Masahiro Tanaka, who led Rakuten to their first championship with an extraordinary season record of 24 wins and 0 losses, started the second game at their home stadium, K-Stadium Miyagi, and pitched a complete game victory with one run allowed against rookie Sugano. In the sixth game at home, where he again faced off against Sugano, the losing pitcher pitched a complete game, throwing 160 pitches in nine innings and giving up only four runs. He took the mound in the ninth inning of the seventh game the following day, and after pitching consecutive games as the closer, he was lifted up in celebration. He then recorded double-digit wins for six consecutive years with the Yankees, giving him a total of 78 wins in the majors. Since returning to Rakuten, he has struggled through trial and error. Next season, the Giants’ challenges will be the emergence of a starting pitcher to follow in the footsteps of Togo, Yamazaki Ii and others, and how to fill the hole left by Sugano, who has 15 wins this season. Just as the team has joined the race to acquire SoftBank’s Ishikawa, who has decided to transfer to Lotte as a free agent, the starting pitcher is an area that the team needs to strengthen, and Tanaka Masahiro is a candidate for in the rotation. He has a close friend, the same age as him, Hayato Sakamoto, on the Giants. In elementary school, they were teammates on the Hyogo Koyanosato Tigers, a youth baseball team. At that time, the pitcher was Sakamoto and the catcher was Tanaka Masahiro. Sakamoto graduated from Kosei Gakuin and currently plays for the Giants, with a total of 2,415 hits. Tanaka Masahiro grew into a top-class player, drawing on his experience of losing in a legendary tie-break rematch to Waseda Jitsugyo High School, led by Saito Yuki, in the summer Koshien finals during his third year at Komazawa University Tomakomai. Masahiro Tanaka is coming to the Giants. He will once again wear the same uniform as his childhood friend, Sakamoto. This fateful “reunion” between the two will be the driving force behind Abe’s Giants next season. ◆200 wins while playing for the Giants Five players have achieved 200 wins while playing for the Giants: Bessho Takehiko in 1954 (310 wins), Nakao Sekishi in 1955* (209 wins), Fujimoto Hideo in 1955 (200 wins), Horiuchi Tsuneo in 1980 (203 wins), and Kudo Kimiyasu in 2004* (224 wins). Of those, only three players achieved more than 200 wins with the Giants alone: ​​Bessho (221 wins), *Nakao (209 wins), and Horiuchi (203 wins). (※ indicates left-handed pitcher)
◆Tanaka Masahiro Born November 1, 1988 in Hyogo Prefecture. 36 years old. He played in Koshien three times while at Komadai Tomakomai, winning the championship in the summer of his second year and coming in as runner-up in the summer of his third year. He joined Rakuten as the first pick in the 2006 high school draft. In 2013, he led the team to a new professional baseball record of 24 consecutive wins (undefeated) at the start of the season, contributing to the team’s first league championship in history and its first Japan Series victory. He transferred to the Yankees through the posting system during the off-season of the same year, and returned to Rakuten in 2021. His major titles and awards in the NPB include MVP, Sawamura Award twice, and most wins twice. 188 cm, 97 kg. Right-handed pitcher and batter.

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