This year, I couldn’t start in 2 games. However, winning 100 is only a matter of time. At the same time, he walks towards Park Chan-ho.
Darvish Yu (37, San Diego Padres) made a big success in the 2022 season with an average ERA of 16-8 and 3.10 in 30 games. He finished eighth in the National League Cy Young voting. However, he tied his own record for most wins in a season in 10 years since 2012, when he was with the Texas Rangers.
In addition, he raised his career wins to 95 wins. Even before the start of the 2022 season, with 79 wins, he was ahead of Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto Blue Jays) with 73 wins by a narrow margin. At this point, a year later, there is a 20-win difference with Ryu Hyun-jin. Ryu Hyun-jin entered rehabilitation with Tommy John surgery after only two wins in the 2022 season. He aimed to return in July. However, he is not guaranteed to return in the first half.
On the other hand, 안전놀이터Darvish is the third Asian Major League pitcher to reach 100 wins, following Park Chan-ho and Nomo Hideo. It is only a matter of time since we only need to add 5 wins. In an away game against the New York Mets on the 11th (Korean time), he became a losing pitcher with 6 hits, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk and 5 runs in 6⅓ innings. Season 2 games, 1 loss, average ERA of 4.76.
▲Pitcher career record (most wins, top 10)
Park Chan-ho / Korea / 124-98 / ERA 4.36 / 1993 innings
Hideo Nomo / Japan / 123-109 / ERA 4.24 / 1976⅓ innings
Darvish Yu / Japan / 95 76 wins / ERA 3.51 / 1499⅓ innings
Hideki Kuroda / Japan / 79-79 / ERA 3.45 / 1319 innings
Masahiro Tanaka / Japan / 78-46 / ERA 3.74 / 1054⅓ innings
Hyun-Jin Ryu / Korea Republic / 75-45 / ERA 3.27 / 1003⅓ innings Wang
Jianming / Taiwan /68-34 / ERA 4.36 / 845⅔ innings
Hisashi Iwakuma / Japan / 63-39 / ERA 3.42 / 883⅔ innings
Kenta Maeda / Japan / 59-43 / ERA 3.88 / 773 innings
Chen Wayne / Taiwan / 59-51/ERA 4.18/1064⅔innings
Darvish signed a six-year, $108 million (approximately 142.8 billion won) contract extension with San Diego before the start of this season. The 2017-2018 free agent season ends with a six-year, $126 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. Although he is a preliminary free agent, Darvish chose stability. He was guaranteed a whopping 42-year-old season.
If he does not retire until the 42-year-old season and continues his career as a player, 100 wins is not a problem, but there is a high possibility that he will exceed Chan-ho Park’s 124 wins. Since he is in his late 30s, his athletic ability will gradually decline, but considering Darvish’s competitiveness, 29-30 wins over 6 years is not a difficult goal unless he is pushed out of the position as a starter.
For reference, the first Asian major leaguer to achieve 100 wins was in 2003 when Nomo played for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Park Chan-ho achieved it for the second time in 2005 when he was in Texas. This year, it is certain that Darvish will continue an Asian pitcher’s 100-win streak for the first time in 18 years, and he will aim for Park Chan-ho and Nomo in earnest.
Darvish had his first start of the season a bit late, due to competing in the WBC in March. His pitching hasn’t been very good in his last two games. However, he is a veteran of 12 years only in the major leagues. In 2015, when he was in Texas, he underwent Tommy John surgery, and suffered from extreme sluggishness during his time with the Chicago Cubs. However, after being traded to San Diego, he enjoyed his second prime. He is a pitcher with excellent coordination skills. He, along with Kim Ha-seong, is a key member who should lead San Diego to win the World Series.