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Yu Darvish and his team, the San Diego Padres, proved they are not to be dismissed in their division, the NL West. After years of their rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers, dominating the division, the Padres are finally challenging that status quo.
This was evident when the Padres upset the Dodgers in the 2022 NLDS and advanced to their first NLCS since 1998. Pitching was a major factor for the Padres this past season.
Darvish, 36, was their best pitcher in the postseason. In four starts, he struck out 23 batters and posted an ERA of 3.10. The postseason was a continuation of his stellar regular-season campaign with the Padres in 2022.
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"Yu Darvish recorded his 3,000th professional strikeout between his career in Japan and MLB!" - @ Talkin' Baseball
Darvish was born Farid Yu Darvishsefat to a Japanese mother and an Iranian father in the Japanese prefecture of Osaka in 1986. He has been one of the best starting pitchers in the MLB over the past decade, playing in North America.
He made his MLB debut with the Texas Rangers in 2012. That year, he amassed a record of 16-9 with an ERA of 3.90. He came in third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting that year.
In the shortened 2020 season, Darvish posted a career-best ERA of just 2.01. That same year, Darvish won the first World Series ring of his career as a starter for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The five-time All-Star came to the San Diego Padres in a trade in 2020. In 2021, during his first full season pitching for the Padres, Darvish earned about $20 million.
"The San Diego Padres have agreed to a 6-year, $108M extension with Yu Darvish, per @AJCassawell" - @ FOX Sports: MLB
Darvish agreed to a 6-year, $108 million contract in February 2023. The deal also features a $6 million signing bonus and about $18 million every season through the 2028 season.
Yu Darvish is looking forward to six more seasons on the Padres team
In 2022, the San Diego Padres demonstrated that they are not to be underestimated. Some key offseason signings like Xander Bogaerts, as well as the return of 2021 NL home run champion Fernando Tatis Jr., make a lot of pundits very bullish on this team. Hopefully, Darvish will be able to provide a foundation of experience for this dynamic team.
