San Diego Padres Yu Darvish joined the 2000 strikeout club on Sunday, September 22, when he struck out Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox.
Two thousand strikeouts is a historic achievement on its own, but the context behind Darvish’s achievement goes deeper. In MLB’s history, only 90 players have recorded at least 2,000 strikeouts. Only one of those players was born in Japan: Darvish.
Darvish began his career in Japan with the Nippon Ham Fighters. In seven seasons in Japan, he struck out 1,250 batters. He made his MLB debut with the Texas Rangers in 2012. Since then, he has been climbing towards 2,000. On Sunday, he reached the momentous mark.
Between Japan and the big leagues, Darvish has 3,253 strikeouts. Since his MLB career started, Darvish has been one of the best starters in baseball. He is a five-time All-Star and led the league in strikeouts in 2013. Darvish had four 200-strikeout seasons in Japan despite making fewer appearances per year than in the Majors.
Darvish has represented Japan well throughout his career. He has been part of two World Baseball Classic Gold Medal teams (2009 and 2023). At 37, Darvish still looks sharp and could continue to dominate for years to come. He is eighth amongst active players in strikeouts and is signed with the Padres through 2028.
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Photo Credit: Yu Darvish celebrates. (Getty Images)
