What years did Masahiro Tanaka play?

Masahiro Tanaka played in Major League Baseball from 2014 to 2020.

Was Masahiro Tanaka a pitcher?

Yes. Masahiro Tanaka pitched in the major leagues, recording 78 wins and 991 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Masahiro Tanaka hit?

Masahiro Tanaka hit 0 career home runs with 1 hit.

What teams did Masahiro Tanaka play for?

Masahiro Tanaka played for one team, the New York Yankees (2014–2020).

Did Masahiro Tanaka win a Cy Young Award?

No. Masahiro Tanaka did not win the Cy Young Award.

What awards did Masahiro Tanaka win?

Masahiro Tanaka was selected to 2 All-Star Games.

What were Masahiro Tanaka's career stats?

In 174 games, Masahiro Tanaka went 78-46 with a 3.74 ERA, 991 strikeouts, and 1,054.1 innings pitched.

What was Masahiro Tanaka's salary?

Masahiro Tanaka's last recorded salary was $22,000,000, in 2016. His highest recorded salary was $22,000,000, in 2014, and his lowest was $22,000,000, in 2014. The Salary History table lists each season from 2014 to 2016.

What position did Masahiro Tanaka play?

Masahiro Tanaka played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Masahiro Tanaka and how much did he weigh?

Masahiro Tanaka was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 218 pounds.

What was Masahiro Tanaka's career ERA?

Masahiro Tanaka finished with a 3.74 career ERA, going 78-46 with 991 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Masahiro Tanaka have?

Masahiro Tanaka recorded 991 career strikeouts.

Is Masahiro Tanaka in the Hall of Fame?

No. Masahiro Tanaka has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Masahiro Tanaka

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2014-2020)

Masahiro Tanaka was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2014 to 2020 for the New York Yankees, a span of 7 seasons. Across 174 career appearances, he went 78-46 with a 3.74 ERA and 991 strikeouts. Masahiro Tanaka was a 2-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 7653.7.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 17, 2026

W–L 78–46

ERA 3.74

WHIP 1.13

SO 991

Pitcher PIV 7653.7

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'3" / 218 lb
Born: 11/1/1988 in Itami, Hyogo, Japan
MLB Debut: 2014-04-04
Last Game: 2020-09-23
Awards: 2× All-Star

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Career Pitching Statistics

Masahiro Tanaka — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
78	46	174	173	7	4	0	1054.1	983	438	159	208	991	3.74	7653.7

Career ERA 3.74 vs. league average 4.17 across their career seasons — 10.3% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Masahiro Tanaka Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
2014	NYA	AL	13	5	20	20	3	1	136.1	123	42	21	141	2.77	3.74 (+26%)	2440.2
2015	NYA	AL	12	7	24	24	1	0	154.0	126	60	27	139	3.51	3.96 (+11%)	-87.6
2016	NYA	AL	14	4	31	31	0	0	199.2	179	68	36	165	3.07	4.19 (+27%)	3522.0
2017	NYA	AL	13	12	30	30	1	1	178.1	180	94	41	194	4.74	4.36 (-9%)	79.4
2018	NYA	AL	12	6	27	27	1	1	156.0	141	65	35	159	3.75	4.15 (+10%)	546.1
2019	NYA	AL	11	9	32	31	1	1	182.0	186	90	40	149	4.45	4.51 (+1%)	1114.1
2020	NYA	AL	3	3	10	10	0	0	48.0	48	19	8	44	3.56	4.45 (+20%)	39.6
Career · 7 seasons			78	46	174	173	7	4	1,054.1	983	438	208	991	3.74	—	7,654

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Masahiro Tanaka — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
174	27	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	12	.037	.071	.037	.108	0

Career AVG .037 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — 85.3% below league average.

Career OBP .071 vs. league average .320 across their career seasons — 77.7% below league average.

Career SLG .037 vs. league average .413 across their career seasons — 91.0% below league average.

Career OPS .108 vs. league average .733 across their career seasons — 85.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Masahiro Tanaka — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
2014	NYA	AL	20	9	0	1	0	5	.111	—	—	—	—	0.0
2015	NYA	AL	24	7	0	0	1	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2016	NYA	AL	31	2	0	0	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2017	NYA	AL	30	2	0	0	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2018	NYA	AL	27	6	1	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2019	NYA	AL	32	1	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2020	NYA	AL	10	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 7 seasons			174	27	1	1	1	12	.037	—	—	—	—	0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Masahiro Tanaka — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Masahiro Tanaka — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AVG
2020	ALDS1	NYA	1	.000
2020	ALWC2	NYA	1	.000
2019	ALCS	NYA	2	.000
2019	ALDS2	NYA	1	.000
2018	ALDS1	NYA	1	.000
2017	ALCS	NYA	2	.000
2017	ALDS1	NYA	1	.000
2015	ALWC	NYA	1	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Masahiro Tanaka — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
5	4	10	10	0	54.0	38	20	15	44	3.33

Playoff Pitching by Year

Masahiro Tanaka — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
2020	ALDS1	NYA	0	1	1	1	4.0	8	5	1	4	11.25
2020	ALWC2	NYA	0	0	1	1	4.0	5	6	3	3	13.50
2019	ALCS	NYA	1	1	2	2	11.0	5	3	3	5	2.45
2019	ALDS2	NYA	1	0	1	1	5.0	3	1	1	7	1.80
2018	ALDS1	NYA	1	0	1	1	5.0	3	1	1	4	1.80
2017	ALCS	NYA	1	1	2	2	13.0	7	2	2	11	1.38
2017	ALDS1	NYA	1	0	1	1	7.0	3	0	1	7	0.00
2015	ALWC	NYA	0	1	1	1	5.0	4	2	3	3	3.60

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (348 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Masahiro Tanaka — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	88	0	0	0	0	0	—
Away	86	27	1	1	0	0	.037

Pitching — Home / Away

Masahiro Tanaka — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	88	545.1	487	207	101	535	3.42
Away	86	509.0	496	231	107	456	4.08

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Masahiro Tanaka — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
2020-09-23	NYY	TOR	L	4.0	8	5	3	3	5	1
2020-09-17	NYY	TOR	W	7.0	7	3	3	0	5	2
2020-09-11	NYY	BAL	W	5.0	3	1	1	0	5	1
2020-09-06	NYY	BAL	L	5.1	6	4	2	1	5	1
2020-09-01	NYY	TBR	W	6.0	3	2	2	1	7	1
2020-08-26	NYY	ATL	—	5.0	3	0	0	0	4	0
2020-08-18	NYY	TBR	L	4.0	8	6	5	0	2	2
2020-08-12	NYY	ATL	—	4.0	5	2	2	2	3	1
2020-08-07	NYY	TBR	—	5.0	1	0	0	0	5	0
2020-08-01	NYY	BOS	—	2.2	4	2	1	1	3	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Masahiro Tanaka — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	174	173	68	134	4	12

Season-by-Season Fielding

Masahiro Tanaka — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
2014	NYA	P	20	20	12	14	0	1
2015	NYA	P	24	24	11	19	0	2
2016	NYA	P	31	31	11	30	1	1
2017	NYA	P	30	30	8	22	0	1
2018	NYA	P	27	27	14	24	1	4
2019	NYA	P	32	31	9	18	2	3
2020	NYA	P	10	10	3	7	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Masahiro Tanaka — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	174

Awards & Honors

Masahiro Tanaka — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
2014	Pitcher of the Month	May

Salary History

Masahiro Tanaka's recorded salaries total $66,000,000 over 3 seasons, 2014 to 2016. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Tanaka's career ran from 2014 to 2020. His seasons after 2016 are not included.

Masahiro Tanaka — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
2016	NYA	AL	$22,000,000
2015	NYA	AL	$22,000,000
2014	NYA	AL	$22,000,000
Total recorded salary (partial)			$66,000,000

Award Voting History

Masahiro Tanaka — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
2016	Cy Young Award	AL	7th	6.0	210	0
2014	Rookie of the Year	AL	5th	16.0	150	0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Masahiro Tanaka (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Masahiro Tanaka: the record in brief

According to the bio, Masahiro Tanaka debuted on April 4, 2014 and played a final game on September 23, 2020. Tanaka spent the whole of the career shown here with one club, the New York Yankees. The bio lists Tanaka as a pitcher who both batted and threw right-handed. Height and weight on file: 218 pounds on a 6-foot-3 frame. The birth record reads November 1, 1988, in Itami, Hyogo, Japan.

Across 174 games (173 starts), Tanaka recorded 78 wins against 46 losses with a 3.74 ERA. The same table counts 991 strikeouts. That 3.74 ERA compares with a 4.17 league average across the same seasons, 10.3% better. Tanaka won 14 games in 2016, the most of any season listed. 2017 produced Tanaka's most strikeouts, 194. 2014 was Tanaka's sharpest full season, a 2.77 ERA against the league's 3.74. Pitcher PIV, the site's era-adjusted run-prevention measure, totals 7,653.7 for Tanaka's career.

Frequently Asked Questions about Masahiro Tanaka

What years did Masahiro Tanaka play?: Masahiro Tanaka played in Major League Baseball from 2014 to 2020.
Was Masahiro Tanaka a pitcher?: Yes. Masahiro Tanaka pitched in the major leagues, recording 78 wins and 991 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Masahiro Tanaka hit?: Masahiro Tanaka hit 0 career home runs with 1 hit.
What teams did Masahiro Tanaka play for?: Masahiro Tanaka played for one team, the New York Yankees (2014–2020).
Did Masahiro Tanaka win a Cy Young Award?: No. Masahiro Tanaka did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Masahiro Tanaka win?: Masahiro Tanaka was selected to 2 All-Star Games.
What were Masahiro Tanaka's career stats?: In 174 games, Masahiro Tanaka went 78-46 with a 3.74 ERA, 991 strikeouts, and 1,054.1 innings pitched.
How much did Masahiro Tanaka earn in his career?: Masahiro Tanaka's recorded salaries total $66,000,000 over 3 seasons, 2014 to 2016. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Tanaka's career ran from 2014 to 2020. His seasons after 2016 are not included.
What was Masahiro Tanaka's salary?: Masahiro Tanaka's last recorded salary was $22,000,000, in 2016. His highest recorded salary was $22,000,000, in 2014, and his lowest was $22,000,000, in 2014. The Salary History table lists each season from 2014 to 2016.
What position did Masahiro Tanaka play?: Masahiro Tanaka played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Masahiro Tanaka and how much did he weigh?: Masahiro Tanaka was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 218 pounds.
What was Masahiro Tanaka's career ERA?: Masahiro Tanaka finished with a 3.74 career ERA, going 78-46 with 991 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Masahiro Tanaka have?: Masahiro Tanaka recorded 991 career strikeouts.
Is Masahiro Tanaka in the Hall of Fame?: No. Masahiro Tanaka has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.