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Who are Yu?

by Steve Maxwell

Exploring the Rangers' Japanese sensation

I have a few questions to ask all you baseball fans: Have you ever heard of the baseball team, Hokkaido Nippon- Ham Fighters? How about Nippon Professional Baseball, or Puro Yakyu, as residents of Japan call it?

Well if you answered no to these questions, don’t worry! Only the most hardcore baseball nuts might know what I am referring to. I didn’t know either, until I heard of a certain pitching sensation from Japan, named Yu Darvish.

I did a little digging and researching and found out that Yu played for the Ham Fighters in the Puro Yakyu. Sound familiar yet? If you’ve been watching ESPN then it probably does, but if not, I’ll fill you in.

Yu Darvish was Japanese baseball's ultimate star. He was two-time Pacific League MVP (2007, 2009), 2007 Eiji Sawamura Award winner, three-time Pacific League strikeout title winner (2007, 2010, 2011), two-time pacific league ERA title (2009, 2010), two-time Pacific League Best Nine Award (2007, 2009), two-time Pacific League Mitsui Golden Glove Award (2007, 2008), 2006 Asia Series MVP, elected five times to the NPB All Star game (2007-2011), and 2007 Pacific League Climax Series MVP.

I should also mention he was a Gold medal winner for both the World Baseball Classic in 2009, and Asian Baseball Championship in 2007.

Why should we care, you ask? Well, you will care when I tell you that Japan's favorite baseball son is now a Texas Ranger.

Yes, that Rangers team that has lost two straight World Series, and desperately needed a boost on their inconsistent pitching rotation. Not to mention the loss of ace C.J. Wilson who just defected to the rival Los Angeles Angels. Yu is probably one of the most hyped players that the Rangers have ever acquired in their very pre-World Series bland existence! They signed Yu to a six-year $60 million contract.

Now, I’ll let all the seasoned sports analysts talk about the possibilities Yu could bring about in Arlington and in MLB.

I'm going to tell you a little about Yu before his coming to America, and the Texas Rangers. Why? Well, let’s start with this: he was striking out batters on the other side of the ocean his whole life, and we haven’t yet had the privilege of knowing him. We’ll meet him shortly when the season begins, and we may be even more inspired by his abilities if we know a little about his background.

Yu Darvishsefad was born to an Iranian father, Farsad Darvishsefad, and a Japanese mother, Ikuyo. Yu's father was quite the athlete himself having played soccer at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Yu not only began playing baseball at a young age, but he won at a young age as well. He led the Habikino Boys to the quarterfinals of the Japanese National Tournament as well as a third place finish in the International Tournament. His obvious talent and ongoing success got the attention of scouts from over 50 High Schools while he played at the Junior High level.

He chose baseball powerhouse Tohoku High School. It was inevitable that he became Tohoku's ace pitcher. In fact, he became ace in his first year, leading his team to four straight appearances in national tournaments. Then he gained national attention when he pitched a no-hitter in a high school baseball invitational tournament as a senior in 2004. Most people saw him as the best high school pitcher in the country by that time.

Here are some stats: 12 games pitched, 7-3 record, 87 strikeouts in 92 innings, and a 1.47 ERA in four national tournament appearances. He posted a 1.10 ERA for his high school career, striking out 375 in 332 1/3 innings (67 appearances). Amazing numbers, if you ask me.

While most of us were unaware of his existence, MLB wasn’t. The Angels, Braves, Dodgers, and Mets approached him, but he seemed more interested in Japan’s professional ranks, and that’s where he went. Yu was considered one, if not the best high school pitchers in the 2004 NPB draft. The Ham Fighters were the lucky ones, snagging him with a base salary of 15 million yen, and a signing bonus of 100 million yen on December 17, 2004.

Of course, even Yu was mortal, and things got off to a rocky start when he was caught smoking at a parlor during spring training - not being of legal age to smoke in Japan. This caused his high school to suspend him, and the Fighters to put him on probation and work community service. He later was able to play and went 5-5 in 14 starts, throwing 94 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.53. In 2006, he put up a 12-5 record with 115 strikeouts, and 2.89 ERA. Yu also won the Asia Series MVP Award. In 2007, the Japanese star posted a 15-5 record with a 1.82 ERA.

On a non-baseball note, Yu married Japanese actress Saeko in November, 2007. Together they welcomed their first child into the world on March 25, 2008, adding a bit of tabloid fare to the baseball star. In 2008, Yu posted a 16-4 record with a 1.88 ERA, 208 strikeouts in 200 innings, a second straight year putting up an ERA under 2.00. Also in that year, he re-signed with the Fighters to a contract worth 270 million yen.

But, 2009 was a little unfortunate for Yu. He suffered some injuries, but the Ham Fighters still re-signed Yu to a contract worth 330 yen. In 2010, he only put up a 12-8 record, but boasted a 1.78 ERA with 222 strikeouts. After the 2010 season, he posted on a blog that he would be returning to the Ham Fighters. His contract made him the highest paid player in the NPB with 500 million yen. He finished the season with a whopping 18 games won, along with a 1.44 ERA, 28 starts, 232 innings, 276 strikeouts, and with only 36 walks.

When 2012 rolled around, Yu gave Major League Baseball teams until December 14 to bid on him.

The Texas Rangers didn’t need until 2012 to make up their minds. They quickly made the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area very happy.

So now you know a little bit about the man they’re all talking about. Now comes the question everyone is asking: Can Yu Darvish, the ultimate Japanese baseball star, become an ultimate MLB star and lead the Texas Rangers to their first World Series win?

It should be very exciting to find out the answer to that question. Bring on the Baseball!

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