In 2006, a young Japanese righty named Daisuke Matsuzaka caught the world's attention with his performance in the World Baseball Classic. In 2009, it was Yu Darvish's turn.
The righty went 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 20 strikeouts in the tournament, including a scoreless ninth inning against the U.S. in the semfinals, and it wasn't long before speculation began regarding when Darvish would make the jump to the major leagues. While that move is likely still in the 24-year-old's future, it won't happen this winter, as he announced on yakyubaka.com that he'll be staying in Japan in 2010.
"A lot has been mentions about the Majors," he wrote on the site. "I received a lot of comments, both on Twitter and on my blog. I don't know if this will match everyone's guess. Next season … I will be wearing a Nippon Ham Fighters uniform."
Darvish has pitched for the Nippon Ham Fighters since 2005, when he was 18 years old. He's compiled a 75-32 record to go with a 2.12 ERA, striking out 974 batters in 1,036 1/3 innings. He's also pitched 45 complete games and 12 shutouts.
Those numbers compare favorably with Matsuzaka's in Japan, as Daisuke went 108-60 with a 2.95 ERA and 1,355 strikeouts in 1,402 2/3 innings. Matsuzaka, in two more seasons than Darvish, pitched 72 complete games and 18 shutouts.
"Right now, his stuff is probably sharper than Daisuke's," Bobby Valentine, former opposing Japanese manager, told Yahoo in March.
While neither the Red Sox nor any other MLB team was officially linked to seeking Darvish's services, he would likely command the attention of all the big players in free agency when he decides to make the move to MLB.
