Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
The Ballpark The Temple
The Ballpark in Arlington
Former names	The Ballpark in Arlington (1994–2004) Ameriquest Field in Arlington (2004–2007)
Location	1000 Ballpark Way Arlington, Texas 76011
Coordinates	32°45′5″N 97°4′58″W / 32.75139°N 97.08278°W / 32.75139; -97.08278Coordinates: 32°45′5″N 97°4′58″W / 32.75139°N 97.08278°W / 32.75139; -97.08278
Broke ground	April 2, 1992
Opened	April 1, 1994
Owner	Arlington Sports Facilities Development Authority
Operator	Rangers Baseball Express
Surface	Infield: Y2 Zoysiagrass Outfield: Tifway 419 Bermudagrass
Construction cost	$191 million ($299 million in 2012 dollars[1])
Architect	David M. Schwarz Architectural Services, Inc. HKS, Inc. (architect of record)
Structural engineer	Walter P Moore/Datum[2]
Services engineer	Dunn Consulting Engineers[3]
General Contractor	Manhattan Construction Company
Capacity	48,194[4]
Record attendance	52,419
Field dimensions	Left Field Line - 332 feet (101 m) Left Center - 390 feet (119 m) Deep Left Center - 404 feet (123 m) Center Field - 400 feet (122 m) Deep Right Center - 407 feet (124 m) Right Center - 377 feet (115 m) Right Field Line - 325 feet (99 m) Backstop - 60 feet (18 m)
Tenants
Texas Rangers (MLB) (1994–present)

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is a ballpark in Arlington, Texas, located between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. It was known until May 7, 2004, as The Ballpark in Arlington when Ameriquest bought the naming rights to the ballpark and renamed it Ameriquest Field in Arlington. On March 19, 2007, the Texas Rangers severed their relationship with Ameriquest and announced that the stadium would be named Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

The stadium was constructed as a replacement for nearby Arlington Stadium. It is home to the American League's Texas Rangers, and the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame.

The stadium contains 5,704 club seats and 126 luxury suites.

History[link]

Funding was approved for a new home for the Texas Rangers in 1991 by the City of Arlington. Construction began on April 2, 1992 a short distance away from Arlington Stadium, the ballpark it would replace, and the new Ballpark in Arlington was opened on April 1, 1994 in an exhibition contest between the Texas Rangers and the New York Mets. The first official game was on April 11 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The largest crowd to watch a Rangers baseball game was on October 30, 2010, when 52,419 fans watched Game 3 of the 2010 World Series against the San Francisco Giants.

Features[link]

Design[link]

Park by the Home Plate Entrance at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

The Ballpark was designed by David M. Schwarz Architectural Services of Washington, D.C. The Rangers chose to build a retro-style ballpark, incorporating many features of baseball's Jewel Box parks. A roofed home run porch in right field is reminiscent of Tiger Stadium, while the white steel frieze that surrounds the upper deck was copied from the pre-1973 Yankee Stadium. The out-of-town scoreboard (removed in 2009 and replaced with a state-of-the-art videoboard) was built into the left-field wall—a nod to Fenway Park, while the numerous nooks and crannies in the outfield fence are a reminder of Ebbets Field.^[5] The arched windows are a reminder of Comiskey Park. However, it has a few distinct features of its own. Several traditional Texas-style stone carvings are visible throughout the park. A four-story office building in center field encloses the park, with a white steel multilevel facade similar to the facade on the roof.

As the ballpark was built on one of the former Arlington Stadium parking lots, the irregular dimensions of the outfield were planned independently, rather than being forced by neighboring structures. The home plate, foul poles, and bleachers were originally at Arlington Stadium. The Home Plate was inserted into place by Richard Greene (then Mayor of Arlington), Elzie Odom (Head of Arlington Home Run Committee and later Mayor of Arlington), and George W. Bush (former part Rangers owner, later Texas Governor and President of the United States).

The Ballpark's 810-foot (250 m)-long facades are made of brick and Texas Sunset Red granite. Bas-relief friezes depict significant scenes from the history of both Texas and baseball. The calculus of seating arrangements represented a new economic model for the sport: a critical mass of high-dollar seats close to the infield boost ticket revenue. The stadium has three basic seating tiers: lower, club and upper deck. Two levels of luxury suites occupy spaces behind sliding glass doors above and below the club tier.^[6]

The park has a large number of obstructed-view seats. In some cases, the view is cut off by an overhang or underhang, and others are directly in front of the foul poles or support poles. Also, the design of the upper deck leaves it one of the highest in baseball. The view from the grandstand reserved sections in left is particularly obstructed.

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in 2006, with Greene's Hill in center field.

Greene's Hill is a sloped section of turf located behind the center field fence at the home field of the ballpark. The Hill serves as a batter's eye, providing a contrasting background behind the pitchers which enables hitters to more easily see the baseball after the pitcher's release. "Greene's Hill" was originally designed as a picnic area for fans but the Rangers have never initiated this policy. The hill was named after former Arlington mayor, Richard Greene in November 1997. For a couple of years in the 2000s, the Rangers had the "T" from the Texas Rangers logo mowed into the grass, but this is no longer done. In 2010, the Rangers started a tradition where they had four girls run around on Greene's Hill with giant flags when the Rangers scored, similar to what many football teams do when their teams score.

Seating capacity[link]

• 49,292 (1994-1995)
• 49,178 (1996)
• 49,166 (1997-1999)
• 49,115 (2000-2005)
• 48,911 (2006-2008)
• 49,170 (2009-2011)
• 48,194 (2012-present)^[4]

Field dimensions[link]

The field is one of the most notoriously hitter-friendly parks in baseball, due to the high temperatures, relatively short fences, and the design of the stadium which has allowed the area's high winds to swirl and lift balls that wouldn't normally make it out. In truth, the park would give up even more home runs if not for the office building in center and the field being 22 feet (6.7 m) below street level.^[7]

With a combination of the park's design and the naturally good hitters who've played for the Rangers, the team has put up some rather high home run totals. In 1996, the Rangers hit 221 homers. They eclipsed 200 again in 1998 (201), 1999 (230), 2001 (241), 2002 (230), 2003 (239), 2004 (227), and 2005 (260, four short of the all-time record of 264 by the 1997 Seattle Mariners). Many of the Ranger's already-skilled hitters take advantage of this, some even racking up multiple 30+ Home run seasons, such as Elvis Andrus, Ian Kinsler, Adrian Beltre, and Josh Hamilton.**Elvis Andrus has never hit more than 8 home runs in a season.^[8]

Dimensions^[9]

• Left Field: 332 feet
• Left-Center Field: 390 feet
• Center Field: 400 feet
• Right-Center Field: 381 feet
• Right Field: 325 feet

Lack of retractable roof[link]

The Ballpark during the day

Despite being hailed as a wonderful venue in its infant years, articles in The Dallas Morning News began to suggest that the ballpark would have been better served by having a dome or retractable roof - much like Minute Maid Park, the home of the Houston Astros - due to the often oppressive heat that settles over Texas during baseball season, with temperatures on the field being in excess of 110 degrees. Many argue that the intense heat is a liability in attracting players, particularly starting pitchers.^[10]

That being said, it is questionable that retractable roof technology was a good candidate at the time the park was constructed, when modern mechanical retractable-roof ballparks like Chase Field, Safeco Field, Minute Maid Park, and Miller Park would not open until several years after the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. While retractable roof solutions did exist at the time, they had significant detractors. The Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome) uses retractable roof technology, and is motorized, and opened in 1989. However, it had a C$570 million pricetag, being partially funded by the federal and provincial governments, the city of Toronto, as well as a consortium of corporations (though the Blue Jays now own the stadium, by way of parent company Rogers Communications). One reason for the extra funding sources was that it was a multipurpose venue, being used for a wide variety of sports, as well as conventions. This technology therefore would have been cost prohibitive to the Rangers, who did not have the benefit of those extra sources of funding, and where the price tag was well over 6 times the cost of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Many local sports writers in recent years have suggested adding a roof but the idea has not found any traction within the Rangers organization.

Renovations[link]

The new HD screen on top of the right field porch

On December 3, 2010, the Rangers announced that extensive renovations to the ballpark would be made and ready for the 2011 season.^[11] These renovations included:

• New HD video boards in right field (atop the Home Run Porch) and center field (on top of the office building).
• The scoreboard on the left field wall (which had been replaced prior to the 2009 season) also was updated with HD technology.
• The audio system throughout the park was completely overhauled, with new speakers and production equipment.
• A new 'Show Control System' which can display networked data such as videos, scores, and point-of-sale information anywhere in the park.
• An IPTV system that can display live television content on ten HDTV channels to any display in the park.

Panoramic shot of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington taken February 1, 2003.

Accidents[link]

1994[link]

On April 11, 1994, the first game at the ballpark, Hollye Minter who was posing for a picture while intoxicated fell 35 feet over a railing in right field, fracturing several bones and causing the team to raise the height of the railings.^[12]

2010[link]

On July 6, 2010, firefighter Tyler Morris fell 30 feet onto the section below him, causing a head injury and a severely sprained ankle to himself and minor injuries to fans he landed on.^[13] The game was stopped for 15 minutes while paramedics treated him.^[14]

2011[link]

On July 7, 2011, firefighter Lt. Shannon Stone from Brownwood, Texas was attending the Rangers game against the Oakland Athletics with his six year old son, Cooper Stone, when outfielder Josh Hamilton threw him a ball, as the father had asked.^[12] Reaching for the ball, Shannon Stone flipped over the railing and fell twenty feet, head-first, onto the concrete behind the out-of-town scoreboard in left field.^[12] Stone was conscious and talking as paramedics tended to him, but he died en route to the hospital.^[15] The cause of death was identified as blunt force trauma.^[16] This was the fourth fall in the stadium's 17 years of history.^[17] A moment of silence was held for Stone prior to the next day's game, both the Rangers and Athletics wore black ribbons on their uniforms, and the flags at the stadium were flown at half-staff in memory of Stone.^[16] The Rangers Foundation set up a memorial fund for Stone's family.^[18]

A tarp was placed over the opening through which Stone fell.^[16] Rangers team president Nolan Ryan said the height of the railings exceeds the requirement of the building codes but said the team would do "whatever it takes" to ensure the safety of the fans;^[19] on July 20, 2011, the Rangers announced they would raise all railings in the front of seating sections to 42 inches.^[20] On August 10, 2011, the team announced it would erect a statue memorializing Stone.^[21] Cooper helped unveil the statue on April 5, 2012. It depicts Shannon and Cooper wearing baseball caps. They are holding hands and looking at each other as if they were talking. The inscription on the statue reads "In memory of Shannon Stone and dedicated to all fans who love the game".

On September 30, 2011, Cooper Stone threw out the ceremonial first pitch to honor his father before Game 1 of the 2011 American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.^[22][23]

Events hosted[link]

• Rangers Ballpark in Arlington was the site of the 1995 MLB All-Star Game.
• Rangers Ballpark hosted the first regular season interleague game on June 12, 1997, when the Rangers played the San Francisco Giants.
• Scenes from Disney's The Rookie were shot here.
• Rangers Ballpark hosted the 2002 and the 2004 Big 12 Baseball Tournament.
• The first postseason game won by the Rangers at Rangers Ballpark would come in Game 2 of the 2010 ALCS by a score of 7–2 over the Yankees, on October 16, 2010.
• On October 22, 2010, the Rangers clinched their first ever American League pennant at the ballpark after a 6–1 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, getting the third out in the ninth from former Ranger Alex Rodriguez.
• It hosted Games 3, 4 and 5 of the 2010 World Series, the San Francisco Giants won the final two games to win the series in five games.
• It hosted Games 3, 4 and 5 of the 2011 World Series, with the Rangers winning 2 of 3 home games, but losing Game 6 and 7 to the St. Louis Cardinals in St. Louis. This was part of three sporting championships to take place in Dallas in the same year, along with the 2011 Super Bowl, and the 2011 NBA Finals.

References[link]

See also[link]

• Texas Rangers Hall of Fame

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

• Stadium site on texasrangers.com
• Ballpark Digest visit to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
• Ballparks.com Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Page
• Rangers Ballpark in Arlington's Official history at Rangers site
• Google Maps Aerial View of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
• USGS aerial of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (June 2010)

Yu Darvish
Darvish in 2012 spring training.
Texas Rangers — No. 11
Starting pitcher
Born: (1986-08-16) August 16, 1986 (age 25) Habikino, Osaka, Japan
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Professional debut
NPB: June 15, 2005 for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
MLB: April 9, 2012 for the Texas Rangers
NPB statistics
Win–loss record	93–38
Earned run average	1.99
Strikeouts	1,259
MLB statistics (through May 27, 2012)
Win-loss record	7-2
Earned run average	3.25
Strikeouts	66
Teams
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (2005–2011) (NPB) Texas Rangers (2012–present) (MLB)
Career highlights and awards
2× Pacific League MVP (2007, 2009) 2007 Eiji Sawamura Award 3× Pacific League strikeout title (2007, 2010, 2011) 2× Pacific League ERA title (2009, 2010) 2× Pacific League Best Nine Award (2007, 2009) 2× Pacific League Mitsui Golden Glove Award (2007, 2008) 2006 Asia Series MVP 5× NPB All-Star Game (2007–2011) 2007 Pacific League Climax Series MVP
Last update: 8 December 2011

Medal record
Competitor for  Japan
Men’s Baseball
World Baseball Classic
Gold	2009 Los Angeles	Team
Asian Baseball Championship
Gold	2007 Taichung	Team

Yu Darvish (also spelled Yū Darvish) (Japanese: ダルビッシュ 有;^[1] born August 16, 1986, in Habikino, Osaka) is a Japanese starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers.

Darvish pitched in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well as the 2009 World Baseball Classic as a member of the Japanese national team.^[2] He was considered by many to be the best pitcher in Japanese professional baseball prior to his arrival in Major League Baseball in 2012.^[3]

Early life[link]

Darvish was born in Habikino, Osaka, to an Iranian father, Farsad Darvishsefat, and a Japanese mother, Ikuyo.^[4] His parents met at Eckerd College, a liberal arts school in St. Petersburg, Florida, where his father played for the college soccer team.^[5][6] His grandfather was a travel agent in Iran, and sent Farsad to the United States in 1977 to attend high school in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, where he also raced competitively in motocross.

Darvish began playing baseball in second grade and led his team to the quarter-finals of the national tournament as well as a third-place finish in the international tournament as a member of the Habikino Boys. He was scouted by over 50 high schools while in junior high, but opted to attend Tohoku High School, a noted baseball powerhouse that produced players such as former Seattle Mariners and Yokohama BayStars closer Kazuhiro Sasaki and current Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Takashi Saito, in northern Sendai.

High school career[link]

Darvish became Tohoku High's ace pitcher by the fall of his first year (the equivalent of tenth grade in the United States) and led his team to four straight appearances in national tournaments held at Koshien Stadium in his junior and senior years, twice in the National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament held in the spring and twice in the National High School Baseball Championship in the summer.

Darvish led his team to the finals of the 85th National High School Baseball Championship in the summer of 2003, but gave up four runs to Joso Gakuin High School (whose No. 3 hitter, second baseman Katsuhiko Saka, currently plays for the Hanshin Tigers), the Ibaraki champions, in a complete game loss.

Darvish attracted national attention when he pitched a no-hitter against Kumamoto Technical High School in the first round of the 76th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament as a senior on March 26 2004.^[7] Though the team lost in the quarter-finals despite stellar outings by Darvish and sidearmer Kenji Makabe (currently with Honda Motor Company's industrial league team), many saw Darvish as the best high school pitcher in the country by that time. He pitched 12 games and put up a 7-3 record with 87 strikeouts in 92 innings pitched and a 1.47 ERA in his four national tournament appearances, and posted a 1.10 ERA for his high school career, striking out 375 in 332⅓ innings (67 appearances).

2004 draft[link]

Darvish was scouted extensively by Major League teams, such as the then Anaheim Angels and Atlanta Braves, even while in junior high. As he entered his senior year of high school, the Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets had all expressed interest in signing him,^[8] but Darvish's intent remained to play for a Japanese professional team instead.

Darvish was considered one of the best high school pitchers in the 2004 NPB amateur draft along with Yokohama Senior High School right-hander Hideaki Wakui (later picked by the Seibu Lions) and Akita Municipal Akita Commercial High School right-hander Tsuyoshi Sato (Hiroshima Toyo Carp). While the Fighters, Carp, Chunichi Dragons, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks and Orix BlueWave all considered selecting Darvish with their first-round pick in the final months, the Fighters were one of the few teams that chose not to forgo the first round in exchange for signing a college or industrial league player prior to the draft. This enabled them to land Darvish with their first-round pick in the November 17 draft,^[9] signing him to a base salary of 15 million yen, a signing bonus of 100 million yen and additional performance-based incentives (the equivalent of what a first-round college or industrial league player would normally receive) on December 17.

Professional career[link]

2005[link]

Darvish received further publicity when he was caught smoking in a pachinko parlor on an off-day during his first Spring Training in 2005, despite not being old enough to legally smoke nor to gamble at the time. The incident prompted his high school to suspend him, and the Fighters to place him under probation for an indefinite period of time and order him to participate in community service.^[10]

Despite his suspension, Darvish made his professional debut later that season, taking the mound in an interleague game against the Carp on June 15. Though he gave up back-to-back solo home runs in the ninth, he pitched 8+ innings on those two runs alone and earned the win,^[11] becoming the 12th pitcher in NPB history to earn a win in one's professional debut as a rookie straight out of high school. He recorded his first complete game win on August 6 against the Lions and his first complete game shutout on September 18, holding the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to just two hits and becoming only the 14th pitcher in NPB history to throw a complete game shutout as a rookie out of high school. He finished the season with a 5-5 record in 14 starts, throwing 94⅓ innings with an ERA of 3.53.

2006[link]

Darvish had a breakout year in 2006, compiling a 12-5 record with 115 strikeouts and a 2.89 ERA.^[12][13] In particular, he went 10-0 after May 30, playing a leading role in the Fighters' first Pacific League title since 1981 (his win streak lasted until April 14 of the following season, when it reached 12-0) and contributing to their first championship since 1961 in the Japan Series over the Dragons. Darvish was chosen to take the hill for the first game of each of the Pacific League playoffs, Japan Series, and the 2006 Asia Series (played between the champions of Japan, China, Taiwan, and South Korea at the end of the season). Darvish, then 20 years old, became the first pitcher to start a Japan Series game since 1987 while under the age of 21, and only the fifth pitcher in NPB history to win a Japan Series game at that age with his win in Game 5 of the series. He also won the Asia Series Most Valuable Player award.

2007[link]

Darvish pitching for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2007.

Darvish was named the Fighters' starter for their 2007 season opener, becoming only the fourth pitcher in franchise history (including the Fighters' years as the Senators and Flyers) to start a season opener within three years of graduating high school (the other three pitchers all started season openers as rookies). He struck out 14 over nine innings in a no-decision in his second start against the Lions on March 30 (the game ended a 2-2 tie in extra innings) and 14 again in a complete game win in his next start against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on April 7, becoming only the second pitcher in Japanese professional baseball history to strike out 14 or more batters in two consecutive starts.

Darvish went on to post a 15-5 record with a 1.82 ERA (falling just 0.003 points short of the league lead, which went to Chiba Lotte Marines left-hander Yoshihisa Naruse) for the year, limiting hitters to a .174 batting average against and leading the league with 210 strikeouts.^[14] He led the Fighters to their second consecutive league title, winning both of his starts in the second round of the Climax Series (playoffs) against the Marines.^[15][16]

Darvish took the mound in Game 1 of the Japan Series that followed on October 27 against the Dragons for the second straight year, pitching a 13-strikeout, complete game win in an intense pitchers' duel with then-Dragons ace Kenshin Kawakami (currently with the Atlanta Braves) and becoming only the third pitcher in Japan Series history to strike out 13 or more batters in a single game.^[17] With the Fighters down 3-1 and facing elimination, Darvish started Game 5 on November 1 and held the Dragons to one run over seven innings while striking out 11. However, the Fighters had no answer for opposing right-hander Daisuke Yamai and closer Hitoki Iwase, failing to get a single man on base and allowing the first perfect game in Japan Series history. (However, the game was not an official perfect game according to NPB regulations, which state that a perfect game must be thrown by a single pitcher.) The Dragons won the game 1-0, charging Darvish with the loss and becoming Japan Series champions.^[18] The 24 strikeouts that Darvish totaled in his two starts were the second-highest by any single pitcher in series history (and the highest in a series that went only five games).

Darvish was presented with both his first career Eiji Sawamura Award^[19] (being the first to meet or exceed guidelines for the award in all seven categories in 14 years) and his first Most Valuable Player award following the season. He also won the Golden Glove and Best Nine awards that year.

Darvish made his national team debut in the 2007 Asian Baseball Championship (which also functioned as the Asian qualifying tournament for the 2008 Beijing Olympics) against Chinese Taipei on December 3, 2007. Because Japanese law requires that a person holding dual citizenship choose a single nationality before their twenty-second birthday, Darvish had chosen to retain his Japanese citizenship so that he could play for the national team in the Olympics.^[20]

On December 22, Darvish re-signed with the Nippon Ham Fighters for 200 million yen plus payment at piece rates, up 128 million yen from 2006. At 21 years old, Darvish became the youngest player in Japanese baseball history to reach the 200 million yen mark.

2008[link]

In 2008, Darvish was named the Fighters' starter in the season opener for the second consecutive year, pitching a complete game shutout in that very game (the Fighters won 1-0). Even as his team struggled in the opening months of the season, Darvish continued to rack up wins at a pace that exceeded his own in the previous season. As the year went on, he and Eagles ace Hisashi Iwakuma emerged as the league leaders in both wins and ERA. On April 10, in their only match-up of the season, neither gave up a single hit through the first five innings. Iwakuma went the distance, throwing just 100 pitches and giving up just one run on three hits; yet Darvish topped this, throwing another complete game shutout on three hits and just 95 pitches in one of the best pitchers' duels of the season.^[21]

While he did not pitch the way he had hoped in the Olympics, Darvish promptly put up a perfect 5-0 record with a 1.29 ERA and two complete games in the five starts upon returning to the Fighters, leading them to a playoff berth in a heated race against the Marines. While the Fighters failed to make the Japan Series, Darvish took the mound in two playoff games, giving up one run in a complete game win in one and pitching a complete game shutout in another. Although he lost out to Iwakuma (who put up an astonishing 21-4 record) in wins, he finished second in all three Triple Crown categories, finishing the season with a 16-4 record, 1.88 ERA^[22] and 208 strikeouts. (It was his second straight year putting up an ERA under 2.00, throwing more than 200 innings, and striking out over 200 hitters despite missing time due to the Olympics.) Regardless, the Sawamura Award was presented to Iwakuma, and Darvish became just the second pitcher to clear the guidelines in all seven categories to not win the award (Suguru Egawa was the first in 1982).

Darvish took the mound in Game 1 of the first round of the Climax Series against the Orix Buffaloes on October 11, allowing nine hits but holding the team to one run while striking out 14 in a 4-1 complete game win.^[23] He started Game 2 of the second round against the Saitama Seibu Lions on October 18 and pitched a complete game shutout in a 5-0 win,^[24] but the Fighters lost the series 4-2 and fell short of their third straight appearance in the Japan Series.

On December 1, Darvish re-signed with the Nippon Ham Fighters for 270 million yen plus payment at piece rates, up 70 million yen from 2007.

2009[link]

Darvish started the Fighters' season opener for the third straight year in 2009, taking the mound in the game against the Eagles on April 3 in much-hyped match-up with the reigning Sawamura Award winner and World Baseball Classic teammate Hisashi Iwakuma. Darvish gave up three runs in the first inning but insisted on going the distance, giving up eight hits but allowing no runs from the second inning onward in a 121-pitch, complete game loss (Iwakuma held the Fighters to one run over six innings and was credited with the win).^[25] He had a stellar outing on April 24, striking out six straight and 11 overall en route to a four-hit, complete game shutout (his first of the season) over the Buffaloes,^[26] following it up by holding the Lions to one run and striking out 11 over nine innings in a no-decision in a match-up with fellow 22-year-old ace Hideaki Wakui on May 1 (the Fighters lost 2-1 in extra innings).

On August 22, Darvish was taken off the active roster for the first time in his career due to injury. The Fighters classified it as "shoulder fatigue," and the deactivation came after a career-worst start against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, in which he went 8 innings, but gave up 6 earned runs on 10 hits in a losing effort. He was reactivated on September 13 after recovering at farm team, but in his second start back a week later against the Orix Buffaloes, Darvish gave up a career-high 7 walks in 5 innings, even though he only gave up 2 runs. Three days later he was deactivated again due to a combination of discomfort in his shoulder and a sore back.

Darvish was activated again just in time for the 2009 Japan Series against the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants, and he pitched Game 2 on November 1. He went 6 innings, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits, and also striking out 7 Giants. He became the winning pitcher, and the team won 4-2. The Yomiuri Giants would go on and win the championship series 4 games to 1. After the Japan Series, It was revealed that Yu had stress fracture of the right hand forefinger. Darvish said he first experienced pain after practice on Oct. 28 but kept it to himself. Also, he was unable to fully use the lower part of his body due to hip pains.

Darvish was presented his second Most Valuable Player and Best Nine awards at the end of the season. He became only the third player to have won 2 MVP awards in their first 5 years in the NPB, joining Kazuhisa Inao and Ichiro Suzuki. However, he lost out on his second Sawamura Award to Saitama Seibu Lions ace Hideaki Wakui.

On December 9, Darvish re-signed with the Nippon Ham Fighters for 330 million yen, up 60 million yen from 2009. At 23, Darvish became the youngest player in Japanese baseball history to reach the 300 million yen mark, along with being the highest-paid pitcher in the Pacific League presently.^[27]

2010[link]

Darvish's 2010 season was another strong individual performance, but he struggled to win as many games due to the Fighters troubles. The Fighters finished 74-67,^[28] but in fourth place. His opening day loss was reflective of his 2010 season; he pitched well but the team struggled. He began the 2010 season losing to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on March 20. Darvish allowed two early unearned runs on his way to a complete game loss (5 runs allowed, 3 earned runs) striking out 13.^[29] The Fighters began the season with a 5-14-1 stretch that was put them with their worst winning percentage in five years.^[30] They struggled in all phases of play, but Darvish continued to pitch well. Even at this low point, he was leading the league in strikeouts even as the rest of the rotation was 3-9.^[30] Darvish struck out at least 10 hitters in each of his first five starts.^[31]

Darvish's 2010 season also was noticeable because speculation increased about his potential move (or posting) to Major League Baseball. Darvish was interviewed by The Associated Press where he announced his plans to review his options at the end of the season. He noted, "Right now, I'm just focused on helping my team win this season ... Once the season is over, I'll consider my future."^[32] The Associated Press noted that both his exposure to international play during the 2009 World Baseball Classic and recurring injuries both led him to consider leaving Japan. In addition to back problems he also missed a start in June with a sore right knee.^[32]

Despite the injuries and potential distractions, Darvish pitched well down the stretch. His last three starts were all complete games and he struck out 35 hitters in those 27 innings.^[31] Darvish finished the season with only a 12-8 record, but with a 1.78 ERA.^[33] He lead the league with 10 complete games, 222 strikeouts, a 1.01 WHIP. This was Darvish's fourth consecutive sub 2.00 ERA.

On October 18, 2010 Darvish posted on his blog that he would be returning to the Fighters for the 2011 season.^[34]

2011[link]

On January 6, 2011 Darvish agreed to a contract for the 2011 season that would make him the highest paid player in Japan.^[35] His salary was 500 million Japanese Yen (which on January 6 converted to $6,065,490 US dollars).^[36]

The 2011 Nippon Professional Baseball season was delayed by the Tohoku earthquake. Controversy emerged over when baseball should resume. Commissioner Ryozo Kato was criticized for comparing the resumption to the return of Major League Baseball ten days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Darvish was among the players who felt it was not appropriate to quickly return to baseball, ""I am a baseball player and a human being as well. I cannot think about baseball alone as I normally do."^[37] Darvish took part in efforts to raise funds for the relief efforts and personally donated 50,000,000 Yen (about $620,000 USD) to the Japanese Red Cross.^[38]

Eventually the teams agreed to play the full 144 game schedule, but the start of the season would be pushed back several weeks^[39] The season began on April 12, 2011 and Darvish started against the Saitama Seibu Lions. He struggled, allowing seven runs in seven innings and taking the loss.^[40]

This poor start would not reflect his overall performance. After that opening game he would not allow more than three runs in any of his starts. Darvish would win his next eight starts and thirteen of his next fourteen decisions.^[41] Darvish would finish with his strongest all-around season, winning 18 games and featuring a career-low 1.44 ERA. He also led the league with 28 starts, 232 innings, 276 strikeouts and a 0.82 WHIP. He also featured remarkable control, walking only 36 batters.^[42]

Despite his accomplishments, Darvish was not recognized with the best pitcher in Japan honor, the Sawamura Award. Three of the five-member committee voted to recognize Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles right-hander Masahiro Tanaka. Selection committee chief Masayuki Dobashi explained, "ERA is the best stat to evaluate pitchers ... Tanaka's ERA was a little better than that of Darvish. Tanaka also had more complete games than Darvish."^[43] Pitchers must qualify for the award by meeting seven criteria, 15 wins, a 2.50 ERA, 200 innings pitched, 10 complete games, 150 strikeouts, 25 appearances and a .600 winning percentage. Both Tanaka and Darvish met all of the criteria. Tanaka graciously noted, "I only had better numbers than him (Darvish) ... As a pitcher, I'm nowhere near his caliber."^[43]

The Nippon Ham Fighters were eliminated in the first round of the Pacific League playoffs, losing both games to the Saitama Seibu Lions. Darvish started game one of the series, going seven innings and allowing only one run on four hits, while striking out nine. After Darvish departed, Seibu scored one run in the 9th inning to send the game to extra innings and added three more to win the game in the 11th inning.^[44]

After being eliminated, speculation again increased about Darvish being posted to Major League Baseball. His pending divorce allegedly complicated this situation. Speculation centered on his wife's potential claims to a share of a new contract with an American team.^[45]

2012[link]

In press conference at Sapporo Dome on January 24, 2012, Darvish told more than 10,000 Fighters' fans why he decided to make a move to Major League Baseball.^[46]

Darvish was posted to Major League Baseball prior to the 2012 season,^[47] and is represented by agents Don Nomura and Arn Tellem. He added confirmation of the posting on his blog.^[48] MLB teams had until 14 December 2011 to submit a blind posting bid, and Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters had until 20 December to announce whether the bid was accepted or rejected. Announcement of acceptance of the highest bid, from the Texas Rangers, was made on 19 December EST. The bid was reported to be $51.7 million. The Rangers had 30 days to negotiate with Darvish, or he would return to Japan.^[49] On January 18, the Texas Rangers signed Darvish to a $60M dollar contract for six years with a player option to void the last year, fifteen minutes prior to a 4:00pm CST deadline. Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan commented that Darvish had shown more control than he did at Darvish's age.^[50]

Darvish's first start in the Majors came on April 9 against the Seattle Mariners. His first MLB Strikeout was to Dustin Ackley on a 2-2 80 mph curveball. The first MLB hit that he allowed was a single into left field by Ichiro Suzuki on a 2-2 96 mph fastball. He threw for 5 2/3 innings, giving up 8 hits, 5 runs, and 4 walks. However, he had 5 strikeouts. When Alexi Ogando came to relieve him in the 6th, Darvish got a standing ovation from the crowd.^[51]

Darvish's first start away from Rangers Ballpark in Arlington came on April 14 against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. He pitched for 5 2/3 innings, allowing 9 hits, 4 walks, and 2 runs (one of which was unearned), while collecting 4 strikeouts. Despite the Rangers winning the game, it was a no decision for Darvish. Instead, teammate Robbie Ross picked up the win.^[52]

On April 24, in a game against the New York Yankees, Darvish pitched for 8 1/3 shutout innings, collecting 10 strikeouts, while allowing 7 hits and 2 walks. He gave up a hit to Nick Swisher with 1 out in the 9th. Joe Nathan, the Rangers' closer, relieved him and induced a ground-ball double play to get the save and secure the third win for Darvish. As Nathan came in, Darvish got a deafening ovation from the crowd. This game also marked the 7th time in MLB history that the two starting pitchers were both Japanese, with Hiroki Kuroda on the mound for the Yankees. The game was also televised in Japan.^[53]

On April 30, Darvish gave up his first MLB home run to Edwin Encarnación of the Toronto Blue Jays, in a game Texas won 4-1. Darvish improved to 4-0.^[54]

For his performances in April, Darvish was named the AL Rookie of the Month. Darvish went 4-0 with a 2.18 ERA and 33 strikeouts. His first loss came on May 6 against the Cleveland Indians.

International career[link]

2008 Beijing Olympics[link]

Named the ace of the Japanese national team by manager Senichi Hoshino in the 2008 Beijing Olympics,^[55] Darvish took the hill in Japan's first game of the preliminary round against Cuba on August 13, but was charged with the loss after giving up four runs in 4 innings.^[56] The subpar outing caused Hoshino to lose faith in him and scratch Darvish from the semi-finals that he had penciled him in for, sending Darvish to the mound only in situations that would have no bearing on Japan's fate in the tournament. Darvish started the last game of the preliminary round against the United States on August 20 and was brought in to mop up after the U.S. had taken a decisive lead in the bronze medal match, finishing the tournament 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA (albeit with 10 strikeouts in seven innings pitched).

2009 World Baseball Classic[link]

Darvish pitched in the 2009 World Baseball Classic as the de facto ace of the Japanese national team,^[57] starting the opening game against China on March 5. He pitched four innings, allowing one walk and no hits and striking out three as Japan beat China 4-0. However, pitching in a Major League stadium for the first time in his career, he struggled in his second outing of the tournament against South Korea on March 17, throwing five innings and giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk and ultimately being charged with the loss.^[58] His first career save would follow six days later, when he pitched the final inning of the semi-finals against the United States, yielding no runs and a single and striking out two as Japan won 9-4.^[59]

Darvish came on in relief in the bottom of the ninth inning of the championship game against South Korea with Japan leading 3-2. He struck out his first batter, walked the next two, struck out his next, and then gave up a tying two-out single before finishing the inning with another strikeout. However, Japan scored two runs in the top of the tenth inning to regain a 5-3 lead, and after giving up a leadoff walk in the bottom of the inning, Darvish retired the next three batters (striking out two of them) to clinch Japan's second consecutive tournament title.^[60] His WBC stats were 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 13 innings.

Pitching style[link]

Darvish is a right-handed pitcher who throws from a three-quarter arm slot in a drop-and-drive motion^[61] with exceptionally large frame for Japanese baseball, listed at 6 ft 5 in and 215 lb. In NPB he threw a four-seam fastball whose usual speed is around 147 to 152 km/h (91 to 94 mph) and tops out at 156 km/h (97 mph) {Only 1 pitch measured 161 km/h (100 mph) in World Baseball Classic final in 2009}, as well as a hard slurve around 80 mph (130 km/h) with a vicious break.^[62][63] He complements these two with a wide repertoire of secondary pitches, including a two-seam fastball (sometimes described as a shuuto), cutter, curveball, and a splitter.

While Darvish uses both the set, or "stretch" position and the windup, he has been noted for pitching exclusively from the stretch at times, even when there is no one on base.^[64] While pitching from the windup is generally thought to add velocity to pitches, the set position allows pitchers more control over baserunners.^[65] In Darvish's case the set position often is used as a way of keeping his delivery in sync and consistent.^[64]

Prior to the 2006 season Darvish's "go to" pitch was a screwball, and he tends to rely more on his off-speed pitches than his fastball. After injuring his shoulder in a exhibition game start against the 2006 World Baseball Classic Japanese national team in February 2006, because of the strain the screwball had gradually been putting on his shoulder, he took the pitch out of his in-game repertoire and worked to develop his splitter until it became an equally effective pitch that would replace the screwball. He also has succeeded in increasing his fastball velocity from year to year.

Personal life[link]

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On August 9, 2007, Darvish acknowledged reports of a relationship with the Japanese actress, Saeko, in a post-game interview. He also announced that they were planning to get married, and that Saeko was pregnant with their first child. The couple married in November 2007, in what Japanese tabloids reported was a shotgun wedding.^[66] They have two sons, but divorced in 2012.^[67]

Darvish established a humanitarian fund dedicated to the construction, installation, and maintenance of wells, well pumps, and rainwater storage facilities in developing countries called the "Yu Darvish Water Fund" in February 2007. He has announced plans to contribute to this fund by donating 100,000 yen each time he notches a regular season win. The fund is managed by the Japan Water Forum.

Darvish is the current spokesmodel for DyDo's D-1 COFFEE canned coffee line, succeeding former teammate Tsuyoshi Shinjo in this role.

References[link]

This article incorporates information from this version of the equivalent article on the Japanese Wikipedia.

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Yu Darvish

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• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Nippon Professional Baseball career statistics from Japanesebaseball.com
• Darvish Yu Official Site (Japanese)
• ダルビッシュ有 (Yu Darvish) on Twitter (Japanese)
• Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (Official Website) (Japanese)
• Yu Darvish at JapaneseBallPlayers.com
• Yu Darvish at Baseball Reference