Yankees Masahiro Tanaka is an ace without respect

After four seasons with the club, why aren’t the Yankees and their fans giving pitcher Masahiro Tanaka the respect he deserves?

From his Yankees rookie season of 2014 through the beginning of this May, Masahiro Tanaka has a career win-loss record of 56-30, a 3.60 ERA, 1.091 WHIP, 681 strikeouts and a WAR of 12.9.

During the 2017 Postseason, Tanaka pitched a total of three games (20 innings), allowing just two runs, an ERA of 0.90 and struck out 18 while walking only three. Together, the Indians and Astros managed to hit just .145 against the Yanks’ former No. 1 starter.

In that same period, Justin Verlander finished second in Cy Young voting in 2015 and fifth in 2017. From 2014-2017, Verlander pitched to a 51-37 record, an ERA of 3.60, a WHIP of 1.14 and sat down with 725 batters.

Before his World Series heroics, Verlander’s 2017 Postseason included four games (24.2 innings), allowing four runs and a 1.39 ERA while fanning 24.

To me, the two right-hander’s put up pretty similar numbers, although Tanaka’s are slightly better.

Is anyone prepared to say that Verlander is not an ace? Would he be pulled after just 83 pitches with the bases loaded and his team-leading 3-0 at the time? You see where I am going with this?

From ’14-’17, reigning AL Cy Young winner, Corey Kluber, also finished ninth in the voting in 2015 and third in 2016. Kluber boasted a 63-48 record, 2.98 ERA, 1.029 WHIP and 923 strikeouts. His 2017 Postseason was a short one — 6.1 innings pitched while allowing nine runs and 10 punch-outs.

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Aside from his poor playoff performance, there’s no doubt Kluber is still an ace. Indians manager Tito Francona would be hard-pressed to pull Kluber out of a game, leading 3-0 after just 83 pitches.

So I’ve sandwiched Masa between the reigning AL Cy Young winner and the runner-up in last year’s voting. All three righties have very similar stats for the years that Tanaka has been in New York. So why doesn’t Tanaka get the same respect from the Yankees, their manager and fans, as the other two certifiable aces?

Many readers did not like my bashing of Aaron Boone for his recent decision to take Tanaka out of the game vs. Astros. Masa had blanked the ‘Stros for six innings and did so while throwing just 71 pitches.

In the seventh inning, after two scratch singles and a blown call by the home plate ump to load the bases, Boone jumped the gun.

Would a quick hook have happened to either Verlander or Kluber? The answer is no, never, not unless there was an injury. It also wouldn’t likely happen to any other pitcher with a similar track record. Experienced managers would not do such a thing. Boone failed to show any respect for Tanaka.

I am not criticizing Boone because of a personal grudge. I have never met the man. I even like what I know about him. He was a great player, a good analyst and seems like a genuine guy.

However, I do have problems with the way he’s managing this year’s Yankees team. He is trying to do something never done in modern-day baseball history, to win a World Series Championship with absolutely no managing or coaching experience at any professional level.

Next: Justus Sheffield and Jonathan Loaisiga promoted

Masahiro Tanaka is an ace and has the track record to back it up. Let’s hope that Aaron Boone and many of his fans come to see the truth and soon begin to treat Tanaka the way he rightfully deserves.