Masahiro Tanaka is taking a page out of the New York Yankees’ playbook and lavishly spending his money.
The highly sought-after pitcher dropped a hefty chunk of change on a private flight to ensure that he arrived in New York in style before his introductory news conference at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. Tanaka shelled out $195,000 to charter a Boeing 787 Dreamliner to fly himself, four others and his pet dog from Tokyo to the Big Apple, according to Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News.
The small Tanaka clan, which includes a brown toy poodle, certainly had plenty of room on the lengthy flight as the plane typically seats 200 people.
After Tanaka landed a seven-year, $155 million contract with the Yankees, this sort of extravagance really shouldn’t be all that surprising, but the pitcher emphasized this was something he orchestrated, not the team.
“It’s a [chartered] private jet,” Tanaka told reporters Sunday at Narita International Airport in Japan. “It’s not something the Yankees have prepared.”
The right-hander said he arranged the flight so he could head to Yankees spring training “in the best of form.” Tanaka will travel, not as luxuriously, to Tampa on Thursday when pitchers and catchers are slated to report.
