Eleven years ago, a highly touted Japanese import made his major-league debut for the New York Yankees in Canada. Hideki Matsui had one hit that night in March 2003, driving home Derek Jeter with an RBI single off Roy Halladay in his first at-bat.
This time, it's Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka's turn to begin his big-league career in Toronto.
One of New York's marquee off-season acquisitions, Tanaka gets the ball Friday night as the Yankees visit the Blue Jays in Toronto's home opener. Right-hander Dustin McGowan will start for the Blue Jays.
''I would think there will be a ton of attention on [Tanaka], just because of what he did last year in Japan, the contract he signed, who he signed it with and it being opening day in Toronto,'' Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after New York beat Houston 4-2 for its first win after dropping the first two games of the season.
Indeed, fans in both Japan and North America will be eager to follow the fortunes of Tanaka, who cost the Yankees $175 million when they signed him in January. New York gave the 25-year-old right-hander a seven-year, $155-million contract, the highest ever for an international free agent, and paid a $20-million posting fee to his Japanese team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Tanaka earned that deal after finishing 24-0 with a 1.27 earned-run average in Japan last year. He was almost as sharp in his first big-league spring training, going 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA in five games, striking out 26 and walking three in 21 innings.
''We've seen him in spring training, but you want to see what a guy's like when the real bright lights turn on,'' Girardi said. ''We expect him to do just fine, but you still want to see him.''
New York's sizeable outlay on Tanaka was part of a busy off-season. In all, the Yankees committed $438 million to four free agents, including outfielders Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury and catcher Brian McCann. That spending spree came after the Yankees missed the playoffs for just the second time in 19 seasons. New York finished 85-77, its worst record since 1992.
The Yankees had been tracking Tanaka since 2007, his rookie season in Japan, scouting more than a dozen of his starts. New York beat out several teams for his signature, including Arizona, the Chicago Cubs and White Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Astros.
Tanaka flew out of Houston around midday Thursday to get to Toronto early and settle in before his debut. Before leaving, he said through an interpreter that his excitement level was ''getting up there'' ahead of Friday's start.
''I'm sure I will be amped up a little bit but not to the point where I'm worried about that,'' Tanaka said. ''I feel honoured that I'm getting this sort of attention, but, for me, it's just going up on the mound and trying to get outs.''
Pent-up energy will also be an issue for Toronto's McGowan, who'll be making his first big-league start since September 2011. McGowan missed all of 2012 with foot and shoulder injuries and made 25 appearances out of the bullpen last year.
''I'll be jacked up, excited,'' McGowan said of facing the Yankees in front of a sold-out stadium.
''I keep thinking about it every day. I'm already ready to go. That day is going to be special.''
The oft-injured, but undeniably talented, McGowan, a first-round pick in 2000, also missed all of 2009 and 2010 with arm issues. He was a surprise addition to Toronto's rotation, earned the fifth spot after some late spring success and a string of poor starts by incumbent left-hander J.A. Happ.
The Blue Jays return home after splitting a four-game series at Tampa Bay, winning two straight before Thursday's 7-2 loss. Toronto went four for 29 (.138) with runners in scoring position and totalled 11 runs in the series.
''We're excited,'' Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. ''It seems like we've been down in Florida forever.
"Actually, we really have, so it'll be good to get home in front of a friendly crowd.''
The Yankees went 14-5 against the Blue Jays in 2013, but finished 4-5 at Rogers Centre.
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