Best wishes to Padres superstar Yu Darvish

Yu Darvish has been one of the most dominating pitchers in MLB that came from Japan. The five-time MLB All-Star has stood the test of time since his U.S. debut for the Texas Rangers back in 2012 at age 25. He has now turned 39 years old.

Since his MLB debut, the league has seen an influx of Japanese talent that has both thrived and floundered in the majors. But Darvish has remained as a steadfast presence, especially for the powerhouse teams that he has pitched for, such as the aforementioned Rangers, the Dodgers, the Cubs, and presently, the Padres.

Although he has yet to find his form this year, as he's only had seven outings due to an injury, Darvish's leadership in the team has been crucial for the Friars' fight atop the NL West standings. He has so far tallied a 2-3 record with a 5.61 ERA and 29 strikeouts for the now division leading Padres.

Just to highlight his dominance in more than a decade with MLB, he became the first pitcher in league history to record 1,500 strikeouts in under 200 games.

Yu Darvish is a baseball icon in Japan

Before plying his trade stateside, Yu Darvish lit up Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. As an amateur, Darvish selected to attend Tohoku High School in Sendai, Japan, a school famous for producing MLB talents such as former Mariner Kazuhiro Sasaki and Dodger Takashi Saito.

His 1.10 ERA throughout his high school stint earned him a look from both Major League and NPB scouts. He eventually stayed in Japan after being selected by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in the 2004 NPB draft.

On June 15, 2005, Darvish made his debut against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and even carried a no-hitter until the eighth inning before surrendering to home runs in the ninth. This spectacular performance gave him his first professional victory as a pitcher and a preview for the world of what's to come. On September 8 of the same year, Yu Darvish became just the 14th pitcher in NPB history to record a compelete game shutout in a contest against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

His run of dominance in the succeeding years earned him two Pacific League MVPs, and Eiji Sawamura Award, five NPB All-Star selections, and a Japan Series title with the Fighters in 2006. Yu Darvish left NPB with an absurd 98-38 record, 1.99 ERA, and 1,250 strikeouts across seven seasons before signing with the Rangers ahead of the 2012 MLB campaign.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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Edited by Daniel Santiago