Hiroki Kuroda #18 (L), Masahiro Tanaka #19 (C) and Mark Teixeira #25 (R) look on from the dugout before the start of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on September 16, 2014 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
Seven years is a long time in baseball seasons, and it appears to be the lifespan of Yankee signings from Japan’s NPB league. Like Hideki Matsui before him, Masahiro Tanaka is saying goodbye to New York after being with the team from 2014-2020.
But it’s not Matsui I think of as I contemplate Tanaka’s retirement.