There is a possibility that Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish (37, San Diego Padres), who is likely to pitch in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) Korea Game, will pitch in the Korean game without pitching in actual combat.
As of the 21st, Darvish is warming up in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, where the Japanese national team’s spring camp is in progress.
Darvish is the only one of the five major leaguers named to the Japanese national team who has been training with the national team from day one. With the permission of his team, San Diego, he is working with his teammates early on. 메이저사이트
The Major League Secretariat placed a restriction on the WBC players from participating in the evaluation match as part of the national team until the 5th of next month in hopes of smooth training for their team.
Although Darvish joined the national team early with the club’s permission, he is no exception to this rule. Darvish, like other major leaguers, cannot participate in the evaluation match as a member of the national team until the 5th of next month.
Naturally, attention is focused on whether Darvish pitches in actual combat. Shohei Ohtani (29, Los Angeles Angels), who belongs to the Japanese national team, plans to participate in a major league demonstration game as a member of the club. He joins the national team after digesting pitching once.
However, Darvish is already in the national team, so it is difficult to go to the club’s demonstration game. He can play before the WBC official evaluation match, the Hanshin Tigers on the 6th of next month and the Orix Buffaloes on the 7th, but it is difficult to get enough rest until the 10th when the Korean match will be held. In fact, he is not in a situation where he will be pitching in a special field other than live pitching.
Meanwhile, Darvish conducted live pitching that day. He dealt with 6 batters, threw 24 balls and recorded a maximum speed of 147 km per hour. He gave up multiple hits, including a home run, to Munetaka Murakami (23, Yakult Swallows), the home run king who won the MVP of last year’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).