With less than three weeks left before the opening of the World Baseball Classic (WBC), the starting rotation of the Japanese national team appears to be taking shape. In the game against Korea on March 10th (hereinafter Korean time), Yu Darvish (San Diego Padres) is becoming more influential.
Japan’s ‘Daily Sports’ reported an interview with Yu Darvish, who is participating in the camp of the Japanese WBC team in Miyazaki, Japan on the 19th, and mentioned the possibility of starting a match against Korea.
Since the 17th, Japan has been convening WBC national team players in Miyazaki for training. Like Korea, major leaguers such as Shohei Otani (LA Angels), Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs), Las Nuba (St. Louis Cardinals), and Masataka Yoshida (Boston Red Sox) were unable to join the national team camp. The reason why the WBC Organizing Committee refused to allow major leaguers to join the national team early due to ‘insurance’ issues.
However, Darvish joined the Miyazaki camp as an exception. Darvish, who joined the national team after 14 years since the WBC in 2009, said on his personal SNS last month, 안전놀이터 “I join from the first day of Miyazaki camp. It is true that it is difficult to join early, but I am a veteran, so I showed flexibility in San Diego.” Since the 17th, he has been training with the national team players in Miyazaki.
Currently, there is a strong possibility that Darvish will pitch in the first round match against Korea, which will be held at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on March 10th. Initially, the Japanese media raised the possibility that Ohtani would play in the Korean game, but after arriving in Miyazaki, coach Hideki Kuriyama expressed his intention to quickly decide the starting lineup, and the Korean game is in an atmosphere that is solidified as Darvish.
Darvish said, “I have a meeting today (19th), and tomorrow (20th) I am going to talk to the coach because I will take a day off.” I wish I could,” he said, reserved. However, ‘Daily Sports’ explained, “There is a strong possibility that Ohtani will appear in the opening game against China on March 9, and Darvish will appear in the match against Korea on the 10th.”
Darvish is currently called the best Asian pitcher. Darvish played 167 games over 7 seasons in Japanese professional baseball, recording 93 wins, 38 losses, 1 hold, and an ERA of 1.99. 75 losses with a ERA of 3.50.
Darvish spent 194⅓ innings in 30 games last year, and had a season comparable to a career high with a 16-8 record and 3.10 ERA. And recently, he succeeded in renewing a contract with San Diego for a total of 108 million dollars (approximately 140.4 billion won) over 6 years. Darvish, who is recording 189 victories in his personal career, will achieve 200 victories in the US and Japan if he adds 11 more victories in the future.