Darvish Yu (37, San Diego Padres) entered Japan to join the Japanese team training for the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Japanese media such as Sankei Sports said today (15th), "Darvish entered the country through Tokyo Haneda Airport on the 14th."
Darvish is the first player in the American professional baseball major league to join the 'WBC National Team Training'.
From the 17th, Japan will conduct training for the national team in Miyazaki, Japan.
Of the "five big leaguers" selected for the 2023 WBC Japan team, Darvish is the only player joining Miyazaki's training.
Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels), Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs), 무료스포츠중계 Las Nutba (St. Louis Cardinals) and Masataka Yoshida (Boston Red Sox) will move to Japan in March.
The Korean national team gathered today in Arizona, USA, but big leaguers Kim Ha-seong (San Diego) and Tommy Hyeon-su Edman (St. Louis) will also join in March after training with their team.
In a return interview, Darvish said, "The club allowed me to join the national team early, but if I get injured or lose my pace, my relationship of trust with the club will collapse." said.
It means to find a good interface between the individual and the national team.
As a veteran big leaguer, Darvish shook his head despite being evaluated as a 'position to teach' Japanese players.
He emphasized the 'horizontal relationship', saying, "I am a player, and other representative players are also professional players. I am thinking of finding a better direction by sharing the information I have with each other."
In an earlier interview, Darvish also pointed out the atmosphere in Japan that emphasizes 'winning', saying, "The WBC is not a war. There is no need to push yourself, 'If you don't win, you can't go back to Japan.'"
Darvish, who spoke out for his juniors, also has the pride of being a 'national representative'.
Darvish, who signed a contract extension with read more San Diego until 2028, said, "The WBC will be held again in three or four years, but since we signed a six-year extension with San Diego, there is a possibility of participating in the next WBC."