Yu Darvish will not be the first baseball athlete from Japanese Professional Baseball with the label of the “next big thing.” We have seen the likes of Hideki Irabu, Hideo Nomo, and Daisuke Matsuzaka, all were believed to possess the tools to be an ace in MLB. Now while these three pitchers all had moderate success at some point in their careers it is safe to say they didn’t live up to the hype. Matsuzaka may be the only outlier of the group, as he is only 31 and still could succeed when he returns from Tommy John surgery. So why should we believe that Yu Darvish will be any different from any of the Japanese pitchers to come over to MLB prior to him.
I think people really undervalue comfortability in professional sports. Being in an environment that provides comfortability is integral part to one’s success in professional sports. It is why we have seen so many athletes thrive on smaller market as opposed to large market teams. Irabu had to deal with the spotlight in New York, Nomo had to in Los Angeles, and Matsuzaka in Boston. It makes you wonder if a guy like Ichiro Suzuki who didn’t have to deal with a packed stadium every night in Seattle, was able to relax more and just go out and play baseball. Signing with a team with other Japanese players, strong clubhouse chemistry, and a roster where he is not viewed as the biggest star could all go long ways in his search for finding comfortability. Fans are also going to have to realize that Darvish will have to adjust to pitching every 5 days in the majors as well as the fact that he is only 25 and will endure growing pains. But if he can can use his pitching tools to their fullest ability as he did in Japan, the sky could be the limit for this kid. I mean just look at his scouting report below, not too shabby.
“He is right-handed, and throws from a three-quarters arm slot in a drop-and-drive motion. He has bulked up in recent years and is around 220 pounds, and is tall- around 6’5″. His fastball is in the 94 to 97 range. He has a 80mph slider-curveball combo pitch with a great break. He also throws a bunch of other pitches to confuse batters, such as cutter, change-up, two-seam fastball, and splitter. His work ethic, conditioning, and stamina are legendary.”
http://baseball.dailyskew.com/2011/10/yu-darvish-scouting-report-2011-2012.html