Masahiro Tanaka

is a Japanese professional baseball starting pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). From 2007 through 2013, he played for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) Pacific League. Tanaka was posted by the Eagles after the 2013 season to be signed by an American team; he agreed to terms with the New York Yankees and signed a seven-year, $155 million contract, the fifth-largest deal ever given to a pitcher at the time.
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.