Nippon Professional Baseball has become a great outlet for Major League Baseball teams to find talented players. Many players have found success in both NPB and MLB. However, not many have impacted world baseball like Yu Darvish.
Darvish began his career in 2005 with the Nippon Ham Fighters. He pitched in Japan until 2011 and was dominant during that time. He posted five straight seasons with an ERA below 2.00 and four seasons with at least 200 strikeouts, so his move to MLB was no surprise.
Since making the jump to MLB, Darvish has been a dominant pitcher. He has five All-Star selections and has twice finished as a runner-up for the Cy Young Award. Less than 100 players have reached 2,000 career strikeouts in MLB. Darvish joined the exclusive club last season and became the only Japanese player to reach the mark.
Darvish has sustained success in NPB and MLB throughout his career. He was a two-time Pacific League MVP, Eiji Sawamura Award winner, Japan Series champion, five-time All-Star, and two-time Pacific League Mitsui Golden Glove Award winner in Japan. His list of accolades in Japan and America alone makes him one of the best pitchers to come out of NPB. However, Darvish has also made himself an elite presence on the international stage.
Darvish has won two World Baseball Classics with Japan. In 2006, he was the MVP of the Asia Series. In the 2009 WBC, he led all players with 20 strikeouts. He had a 2-1 record and a 2.08 ERA.
Darvish has been pitching professionally for almost 20 years. His efforts and contributions to the game cannot go unnoticed.
