Masahiro Tanaka

Considering how it began, the first major league start by Masahiro Tanaka went about as well as that of any other big-name international signing in recent memory.

The Masahiro Tanaka era is under way.

On Friday night, the 25-year-old Japanese pitcher made his highly anticipated Major League debut, taking the mound for the Yankees against the Blue Jays in their home opener.

The first start of Masahiro Tanaka's career with the New York Yankees is officially in the books at the Rogers Centre. After two rocky innings, Tanaka settled down and dominated a talented Blue Jays lineup over seven innings. 

Aside from the scoreless innings and pitch-by-pitch execution, two things stood out about Tanaka's first performance: poise and command.

The New York Yankees trotted Masahiro Tanaka out for his fourth appearance and third start of the spring on Saturday against the Minnesota Twins. It was his longest outing so far, both from innings (5.2) and pitch count (92), and the results were basically what they have been all spring—a lot of good and some things to work on. 

The long-awaited debut of Masahiro Tanaka finally took place Saturday afternoon, when the New York Yankees' prized pitcher took the mound for two innings of spring training work against the Philadelphia Phillies.

In March, it's common to introduce an opinion of a player or performance by reminding readers that it's very early, spring training statistics don't count and the real games are about a month away from reality.

With New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, that edict isn't just necessary—it's vital.

Entering the official start of spring training 2014, one thing is clear: the New York Yankees are Major League Baseball's most talked about team.

Despite missing out on the postseason last October, the New York Yankees enter spring training as the biggest story in Major League Baseball.

Masahiro Tanaka is officially a member of the New York Yankees organization.

When the team welcomed him to America with a press conference at Yankee Stadium, the brightest pitching star from Japan entered Major League Baseball. Within a few days, fans and media members will garner a live view of his pitches and ability.

For now, we have his personality and demeanor to dissect.

Suppose you just inked a giant major league contract. What’s the first big purchase you would make?