 He signed with the Nankai Hawks (current Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks) during the 1959 off-season.He was one of the first players to be signed from the Triple-A class of the minor leagues, and the team calculated that he should be able to win over 15 games in the Japanese Pacific League.Stanka entered the starting rotation in his first year, and marked a 17–12 record in his first year, leading the league with 103 walks.