I booked No. 1, beating Park Chan-ho. But baseball is like life, nothing comes easy.
Darvish Yu (37, San Diego Padres) was placed on the injured list on the 15th. San Diego announced on the 29th (Korean time) through MLB.com that Darvish had elbow inflammation. Darvish is 8-10 with an ERA of 4.56 in 24 games this season.
He received a six-year, $108 million (approximately 142.8 billion won) contract extension from the club ahead of this season. It was a surprise gift I received when I was in my late 30s. As Darvish, he had no reason not to respond. It was thanks to his outstanding performance with an average ERA of 3.10 with 16 wins and 8 losses in 30 games in the 2022 season.스포츠토토
However, this season’s performance is slightly lower than last year’s. His batting average went up from 0.207 to 0.259 and his WHIP went from 0.95 to 1.30. According to Baseball Savant, his batting average for each type of pitch also increased from last year. The percentage of barrel hits decreased from 8.8% last year to 6.8% this year, but the hard hit rate rose from 37.1% last year to 38.2% this year. Above all, the walk rate has soared from 4.8% last year to 7.3% this year.
The recent pace has not been good either. He lost 3 in 5 games in August and has an earned run average of 4.66. On July 30, he pitched 6 innings against his hometown Texas Rangers with 3 hits, 9 strikeouts, 2 walks and no runs, and did not add a win for a month after becoming the winning pitcher. He is still at 103 career wins.
Despite Kim Ha-sung’s great performance every day, San Diego’s entry into the postseason was virtually eliminated. Therefore, there is no reason to forcibly return Darvish, who was tied to a long-term contract. In fact, MLB.com predicted that if San Diego decides that it is impossible to go to the postseason, Joe Musgrove with shoulder inflammation will be treated as out of season. The health of Darvish and Musgrove is a huge issue in San Diego.
There is a possibility of an out-of-season here and there. MLB.com said, “Manager Bob Melvin admitted that Darvish pitched with some discomfort. He won’t be back until at least mid-September. He has shown his usual brilliance this season, but his consistency has gone down.”
If Darvish successfully completes this contract, he is expected to surpass Nomo and Park Chan-ho one after another and rise to the top spot in the history of major leaguers in Asia. However, the road to Park Chan-ho and his old mother is not always smooth. The two were first-generation Asian major leaguers who won 123 to 134 victories over many obstacles and adversity.
Of course, there is no possibility that Darvish will immediately lose the top spot in the history of active Asian major leaguers to Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto Blue Jays) or Maeda (Minnesota Twins). Moreover, it is not known how long Ryu Hyun-jin and Maeda will be able to play in the major leagues as free agents side by side after this season.
In the end, it is a fight with Darvish himself. The road to Park Chan-ho doesn’t seem too difficult, but Darvish is already 37 years old. Maybe it will be a lonely journey. Situationally, this season is highly likely to stop at 103 wins.