Yu Darvish

Japanese professional baseball pitcher

Yu Darvish (born 16 August 1986) is a Japanese professional baseball starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball. Darvish previously played in MLB for the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Dodgers and in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. In international play, Darvish pitched in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2009 World Baseball Classic as a member of the Japanese national team.

Yu Darvish
Yu Darvish with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
Chicago Cubs – No. 11
Starting pitcher
Born: (1986-08-16) 16 August 1986 (age 38)
Osaka, Japan
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Professional debut
NPB: 15 June, 2005, for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
MLB: 9 April, 2012, for the Texas Rangers
NPB statistics
Win–loss record93–38
Earned run average1.99
Strikeouts1,250
MLB statistics
(through June 26, 2019)
Win-loss record59–49
Earned run average3.63
Strikeouts1,175
Teams
Career highlights and awards
NPB
MLB
Medals
Representing  Japan
Men's Baseball
World Baseball Classic
Gold medal – first place 2009 Los Angeles Team
Asian Baseball Championship
Gold medal – first place 2007 Taichung Team

In his first MLB season, Darvish finished third in the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year balloting. The next season, he finished second in the AL Cy Young Award vote as he led the Major Leagues in strikeouts with 277 and finished fourth in the AL in earned run average (ERA) at 2.83. On 6 April 2014, Darvish reached the 500 strikeout mark in fewer innings pitched than any starting pitcher in MLB history.