Masahiro Tanaka has now completed his first season back in Japan since his record-setting 2013 all-everything year with the Rakuten Golden Eagles. So perhaps now is a good time to evaluate where he is in his career and see what the season tells us.

Tanaka’s 2021 season was much like his 2020 season in the U.S. majors. Although he proved unable to dominate as he did from the summer of 2012 through the end of 2013 season, Tanaka was still plenty good, but the Japanese game is now better than the one he lorded over eight years earlier.