Yu Darvish Is Iranian

[Rasputin]

Yu Darvish (b. August 16, 1986 - ) is a Japanese Baseball player. He was born in Osaka, Japan.


Yu Darvish, is a baseball pitcher. He dominated the news when he was signed by the Nippon Ham professional baseball team in 2004.

His father is an Iranian businessman and his mother is Japanese.

Darvish had inspired intense interest in Japan since he pitched an entire game without a batsman reaching first base while representing his school at the national baseball finals in 2004.


Yu Darvish stands out from his Japanese teammates in more ways than one.
Darvish, who is the ace pitcher for Tohoku High School at this month's national high school baseball championships, is 194cm tall.

He also represents the changing face of the tournament, which is broadcast live all day by national broadcaster NHK. For years it was a bastion of Japanese baseball homogeneity. But with more and more Japanese getting married to foreigners, it's inevitable that players like Darvish will become more common.

Darvish's father is Iranian, his mother Japanese. The two met while attending university in the US.

This year's tournament has also included players with Brazilian and Vietnamese roots.

The 17-year-old Darvish used his 150km fastball to strike out the side in the opening inning of Monday's 11-6 win over Fukuoka's Chikuyo Gakuen. He then left the game with a sore back after giving up a pair of runs in the second inning at Koshien Stadium.

"Our manager asked me if I could keep going," said Darvish, in his second year at Tohoku. "When I hesitated, he took me out."

In addition to a blistering fastball that has caught the attention of major league scouts, Darvish can throw curves and change-ups for strikes.

If he has one fault, some have questioned his grit. He clearly came unglued after committing an error in Monday's second inning and has a tendency to get flustered by umpire's calls.

"He has all the tools," said Isao Ojimi, the New York Mets' Far East scout. "If he got a good grounding in the minors, I'm confident he could play in the majors someday. But he's got to learn to deal with the umpire's calls and change his attitude on the mound."

Tohoku is famous for already producing one star major leaguer -- Kazuhiro Sasaki of the Seattle Mariners -- and the Koshien tournament is quickly becoming a breeding ground for future major league stars. Hideki Matsui, Shigetoshi Hasegawa and Kazuhisa Ishii all played in the annual tournament.

At the prefectural (state) semifinals, Darvish was so overpowering he notched 11 straight strikeouts and 13 overall to lead his team to the finals.

The high school baseball tournament, known simply as Koshien, is serious business in Japan. Teams from all 48 prefectures (states) fiercely contend for the title.

A trip to Koshien can be so rare that players from losing teams gather up little packets of dirt from the infield to keep as souvenirs.

[Rasputin]

Played remarkably active parts in the Koshien (largest Japanese highschool baseball tournament).
2003 the 85th All Japan High-school Baseball Championship_2nd place.
2004 the 76th Invitational High-school Baseball Tournament_achieved No hit/No run.


His over 150km/h fast ball and various curve balls are among the top quality of all pitchers, and with his high popularity, Yu is a big hope of the Japanese baseball league.


2006/Jan. Conclude an exclusive management contract with avex network inc.



•Career Stats (2005.10)

Games: 14 W-L: 5-5 IP: 94.1 K: 52 ERA: 3.53
•Fan letters

Yu Darvish Fanletter Box,
Sports Management Room,
avex network inc.,
5th Fl. avex building 3-1-30 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo,Japan.
Zip:107-8552

[donsaeid]

che esme jalebi.. ama ye chizi RedWine jan... ma kochiketim ama in jash ghesmate sport nist ?

[Rasputin]

Nah ! iranihayeh moafagh ro dar har zamineh keh bashan,touyeh General Disc. mizaram hamisheh keh hameh bebinan !

[golgol85]

jaleb bood, interesting racial mix leads to super tall baseball player!
irooniha to hame chi movafagh hastan: to dars, to tahghigh, to kar, to varzesh!

[nanakhafan]

eyvall damesh garm

[Rasputin]

تلویزیون سراسری ژاپن "فرید درویش" بیس *بالیست ایرانی الاصل - ژاپنی تیم نیپون هام فایترز به عنوان بهترین بازیکن ماه (ام.پی.وی) در ژاپن شناخته شد. درویش ۲۱ساله از سه سال پیش با بازی در تیم نیپون هام فایتر وارد لیگ حرفه *ای بیس بال در ژاپن شد.

[Rasputin]

Baseball pitcher Darvish set to take Japanese citizenship

Star pitcher Yu Darvish, who holds both Iranian and Japanese citizenship, is preparing to drop his Iranian nationality so he can represent Japan in the Beijing Olympics, his father said Saturday.

Darvish, whose father is Iranian and mother Japanese, has been named as a candidate to play for Japan's baseball team in Asian Olympic qualifiers in Taiwan in November.

Japanese law requires that a person holding dual citizenship must choose a single nationality before reaching age of 22. Darvish will reach that age on Aug. 16, 2008.

Darvish's father, Farsa, told reporters Saturday that his son was excited about the prospect of being selected to play for the Japanese national team in Beijing in 2008.

Currently one of the top pitchers in Japanese professional baseball, the 21-year-old right-hander is 11-4 with a 2.05 ERA this season for the first-place Nippon Ham Fighters.

[Rasputin]

Alex Ramirez of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows led Wednesday's list of monthly MVPs, racking up his second consecutive Central League selection.

The outfielder led the league in hits for the second straight month, collecting 38 in August. He also cracked eight homers and knocked in 25 runs to earn the selection as a position player, while Kenta Asakura of the Chunichi was named the CL's top pitcher after winning four games.

Yu Darvish of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters tossed two complete games and won five decisions to earn the selection as the PL's top pitcher.

Tohoku Rakuten infielder Jose Fernandez's clutch hitting for the Eagles earned him the selection as the top PL position player.

[Rasputin]

Posing nude, getting married, changing nationality and now winning the MVP.

It's been quite a month for Yu Darvish.

The pitcher was named Pacific League MVP for August on Wednesday after winning all five of his starts for the Nippon Ham Fighters and posting a stellar 1.35 ERA over 40 innings.

His performance on the mound helped the Fighters maintain a 2 1/2-game lead over the Lotte Marines in the standings. Overall, Darvish is 13-4 with a 2.00 ERA.

He pitched two complete games in August, including his third shutout of the season in a 1-0 win over the Orix Buffaloes.

"This is the first time I've received this award so it's quite an honor," said Darvish. "Those wins came at a very important time of the year for the team and I just hope I can keep contributing."

Picking up MVP honors wasn't the only thing to happen to the 21-year-old right-hander last month.

In early August he revealed that his actress girlfriend Saeko was three months pregnant and that they would be getting married soon. Darvish was also under scrutiny for posing nude in a popular women's magazine.

Darvish, whose father is Iranian and mother Japanese, also indicated he is preparing to drop his Iranian nationality so he can represent Japan in the Beijing Olympics.

He was named as a candidate to play for Japan's baseball team in Asian Olympic qualifiers in Taiwan in November.

Japanese law requires that a person holding dual citizenship must choose a single nationality before reaching age of 22. Darvish will reach that age on Aug. 16, 2008.

Perhaps not so quietly, Darvish has emerged as one of the biggest stars in Japanese professional baseball in the absence of American-based players like Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Matsui.

He has his own official Web site, http://www.darvish-yu.jp, and appears in a TV commercial with Japanese golfer Ai Miyazato.

With attendance at some Japanese ballparks slipping in recent years, Darvish is the type of player needed to keep fans interested in the local game.

Trey Hillman, who manages the Fighters, has referred to Darvish as one of the best pitchers in the game on either side of the Pacific.

Playing in his third season, Darvish still has six seasons to play here before he could qualify to become a free agent. He has expressed an interest in someday playing in the U.S..

For now, he'll just concentrate on helping the Fighters win a second straight Japan Series championship.

[kuku]

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/29/sports/AS-SPT-BBL-Japan-Darvish.php

He won the best Japanese pitcher award.
I want him to go to MLB someday.

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

Darvish flops as Japan drops opener

Japan opened pool play at the Beijing Games with a meltdown against Cuba, falling 4-2 to the three-time gold Olympic medalists at Wukesong Main Field on Wednesday.

Starter Yu Darvish, ace of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, seemed to melt in the Beijing heat, and manager Senichi Hoshino hit the boiling point, getting tossed in the ninth inning for arguing a strike call.

Darvish lasted just four innings, allowing all four of Cuba's runs on seven hits to take the loss. He walked four, while fanning six.

Hoshino said his team just had to regroup.

"We'll be fine once we find our form," Hoshino said. "We can't carry this loss over to the next game. We just have to forget about it and bounce back."

The Cubans put together the winning rally in the bottom of the fifth inning, just after Japan's Takahiro Arai hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to tie the score at 2-2.

Darvish walked Frederich Cepeda to open the inning, and Alexei Bell followed with a double. Hoshino had seen enough of his top hurler's struggles and went to Chiba Lotte lefty Yoshihisa Naruse.

Alfredo Despaigne, however, greeted him with a single to left that scored both runners, and the Cubans got three scoreless innings from reliever Pedro Luis Lazo.

Japan got scoreless relief from Naruse, who threw two innings, Masahiro Tanaka of the Rakuten Eagles and Hanshin Tigers closer Kyuji Fujikawa. But the offense couldn't get the big hit when it counted.

Japan left seven runners on base and its Nos. 3, 4, 5 hitters combined to go 1-for-9 with one RBI.

A bright spot was Munenori Kawasaki of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He went 2-for-3 and scored both of Japan's runs.

Shinnosuke Abe singled to open the ninth, but Tomoya Satozaki of Lotte struck out, pinch-hitter Shuichi Murata of Yokohama flied out to right and Saitama Seibu's Hiroyuki Nakajima watched strike three go by to end the game.

Japan faces Taiwan in its second game today at 8 p.m.

[Rasputin]

Yu Darvish Won't Play for Iran but Will Play at Olympics

Yu Darvish, the Iranian-Japanese baseball star, has been named a pitcher on Japan's baseball team at this month's Olympics.



Darvish is the son of an Iranian father and a Japanese mother who met while they were both studying in the United States. He is one of the biggest stars in Japanese baseball and many expect him eventually to go to the United States.



Darvish held dual Iranian and Japanese citizenship until last year, when he dropped his Iranian citizenship to comply with Japanese Olympic rules that athletes be only Japanese citizens. Japanese law also requires duals nationals to make a decision on one or the other by the time they turn 22, which Darvish will do next year.



Last week, he was named one of 10 pitchers on Japan's Olympic team, which hopes to win the final gold medal before baseball is dropped from the Olympic program. Because the U.S. baseball schedule is nearing its high point at the time of the Olympics, the top U.S. players have ignored the Olympics, reducing interest in the Olympic version of the sport.



Darvish stands 6-foot-5 (196 centimeters) and has racked up an imposing record as a pitcher with the Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan's professional league.

[siamak]

Reporting from San Diego -- Three years ago, a quirky right-hander little known outside the Orient flew into San Diego, pitched Japan to the World Baseball Classic title and became the biggest import from Asia since Sony.

But if you think Daisuke Matsuzaka was special, wait until you see the upgrade.
Yu Darvish is younger, taller, throws harder, locates better and has seven devastating pitches that would instantly make him a top-of-the-rotation major league starter.

"I could write my scouting report in one word," said a scout from a National League team who didn't want other organizations to know he was scouting the pitcher. "Stud."

Problem is, Darvish, who will start for Japan against rival South Korea tonight in a second-round game of the WBC in San Diego, says he has no intention of playing in the United States any time soon. And that has U.S. baseball people frustrated.


"He's outstanding," Florida Marlins scout Orrin Freeman said. "He's got velocity. He's got pinpoint control. Very good motion. Looks like he'll be able to eat up innings.

"He's close to a finished product at 22."

You'll get no argument from Japan, where Darvish is 48-19 with a 2.33 earned-run average in four seasons with the Nippon Ham Fighters of Sapporo. Last summer, in a season interrupted by the Olympics, he was 16-4 with a 1.88 ERA and 208 strikeouts in 200 2/3 innings.

And if that's not enough, he has thrown complete games in nearly a third of his starts and won two consecutive gold gloves.

"I think he can be the best in the world," his former manager, Trey Hillman, told an Asian newspaper. And Hillman, who now manages the Kansas City Royals, hasn't even seen Darvish in more than a year.

Darvish would be a compelling figure even if he wasn't 6 feet 5 and able to throw a baseball more than 95 mph.

His Japanese mother met his Iranian businessman father at Eckerd College in Florida, where the father played soccer. Darvish is known in his father's homeland by the Arabic name Farid, which means unique.

He fits the bill. Several major league teams, including the Dodgers and Angels, started watching him even before he entered high school. By the time he was a senior at Tohoku High, the same school that produced former Dodgers All-Star Takashi Saito, he was on every team's radar.

But when Nippon Ham took him with the first pick in the 2004 Japanese draft, Darvish signed with them before finishing school. He still hadn't graduated when he was back in the news again, this time for smoking in a gambling hall. Because he was not of legal age to smoke or gamble, Darvish was suspended from the team and school, eventually receiving his diploma in the mail.

Two years later, he posed nude for a magazine.

In Japan, that made Darvish something of a bad boy, a reputation he added to by marrying actress Saeko Dokyu shortly after telling a stadium full of fans that his girlfriend of three months was pregnant.

"From what I hear, he's a rock star," said one of the 20 scouts who saw Darvish pitch two scoreless innings in an exhibition win over the Chicago Cubs last week. After that outing, Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano said Darvish has "an aura on the mound."

But for now, that aura is staying in Japan. Darvish won't be a free agent until at least 2014 -- though he could be "posted" this winter, a procedure that allows big league clubs seeking to negotiate with Japanese players to pay his team for that right.

The Boston Red Sox paid Seibu more than $51.1 million to talk to Matsuzaka after the 2006 WBC, then invested another $52 million over six years to sign the pitcher. Given that the younger, more athletic Darvish would almost certainly surpass those numbers if Nippon Ham posted him, the economics may prove too much for either the club or the pitcher to ignore.

Darvish will make a relatively paltry $2.9 million this season, yet publicly he has remained coy, telling a crowd in Japan four months ago that he isn't dreaming of major league baseball, instead setting a goal of 200 wins at home.

That's left some on this side of the Pacific wondering.

"He may never come," said Acey Kohrogi, the Dodgers' director of Asian operations. "That's something that's always going to be a question mark when you're talking about players from Japan."