Farid Yu Darvishsefat (ダルビッシュ・セファット・ファリード・有, Darubisshu Sefatto Farīdo Yū, born 16 August 1986), more commonly known as Yu Darvish (ダルビッシュ 有), is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Darvish has also played in MLB for the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs and in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. In international play, Darvish pitched in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2009 World Baseball Classic as a member of the Japanese national team.
He was considered by many to be the best pitcher in Japanese professional baseball prior to his arrival in Major League Baseball in 2012. In his first MLB season, Darvish finished third in the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year balloting. The next season, he finished second in the AL Cy Young Award vote as he led the Major Leagues in strikeouts with 277 and finished fourth in the AL in earned run average (ERA) at 2.83. On 6 April 2014, Darvish reached the 500-strikeout mark in fewer innings pitched than any starting pitcher in MLB history.
Early life
Darvish was born Farid Yu Darvishsefat (ダルビッシュ・セファット・ファリード・有) in Habikino, Osaka, to a Japanese mother, Ikuyo, and Iranian father, Farsad Darvishsefat. His father played for the Florida State University soccer team. His paternal grandfather owned a travel agency in Iran and sent Farsad to the United States in 1977 to attend Berkshire School in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, where he played soccer and raced competitively in motocross.
Darvish began playing baseball in second grade and led his team to the quarterfinals of the national tournament as well as a third-place finish in the international tournament as a member of the Habikino Boys. He was scouted by over 50 high schools while in junior high. He opted to attend Tohoku High School [ja] in Northern Sendai, a baseball powerhouse that produced players such as former Seattle Mariners and Yokohama BayStars closer Kazuhiro Sasaki and former BayStars and Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Takashi Saito.
What is Yu Darvish’s Net Worth and Salary?
Yu Darvish is a Japanese professional baseball player who has a net worth of $70 million. Born in Habikino, Osaka, Japan, in 1986, Yu Darvish got his professional baseball start in the NPB League on June 15, 2005 with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He played with the Fighters until 2011 and was considered to be one of the best starting pitchers in his country. He finished his NPB career with a 93-38 win-loss record, a 1.99 earned run average, and 1,259 career strikeouts.
Darvish made his Major League Baseball debut with the Texas Rangers on April 9, 2012. Since then, through September of the 2014 season, Darvish has posted a 39-25 win-loss record to go along with a 3.27 earned run average and 680 strikeouts. In 2013, he was crowned the American League Strikeout Champion. While playing in the NPB, Darvish was a five-time league All-Star and won several Pacific League Mitsui Golden Glove awards to go along with the Eliji Sawamura Award. He was twice named MVP of the Pacific League. Darvish has competed internationally for Japan’s national team, helping to secure a gold medal at the 2009 World Baseball Classic in Los Angeles.
Net Worth: $70 Million
Salary: $25 Million
Date of Birth: Aug 16, 1986 (37 years old)
Place of Birth: Habikino
Gender: Male
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Profession: Baseball player
Nationality: Japan
Contracts, Salary and Career Earnings
As of this writing, Yu Darvish has earned over $160 million in salary alone.
Personal Life and Philanthropy
Off the field, Darvish is known for his philanthropic work. He established the Yu Darvish Water Fund in 2007, which supports clean water initiatives in developing countries. Darvish has also contributed significantly to disaster relief efforts in Japan and the United States.
Darvish is multilingual, speaking Japanese, English, and Persian, a testament to his multicultural background as the son of an Iranian father and a Japanese mother.
