Is it okay to win 1?
Darvish Yu (37, San Diego Padres) was gifted a contract extension in the 2022-2023 offseason. Originally, this season was the last season of a six-year, $126 million contract signed with the Chicago Cubs in the 2017-2018 free agent market. However, San Diego gave a six-year, $108 million (approximately 144.8 billion won) contract to a “preliminary free agent” pitcher in his late 30s.
In other words, Darvish has been guaranteed active service until 2028, the 42-year-old season. An extended contract that Darvish had no reason to refuse. Moreover, through this contract, they have prepared a stepping stone to challenge Asia’s No.1. Darvish, who had 95 wins before this season, surpasses Park Chan-ho’s 124 wins and challenges for the most wins in Asian major league history.
▲ Top 10 Major Leaguers in Asia Park
Chan-ho / Korea / 124-98 / ERA 4.36 / 1993 innings Hideo
Nomo / Japan / 123-109 / ERA 4.24 / 1976⅓ innings
Darvish Yu / Japan / 96-77 / average ERA 3.50/1518 innings
Hideki Kuroda/Japan/79-79/ERA 3.45/1319 innings
Masahiro Tanaka/Japan/78-46/ERA 3.74/1054⅓ innings
Hyun-Jin Ryu/Korea/75-45/ERA 3.27/ 1003⅓ innings
Jianming Wang/Taiwan/68-34/ERA 4.36/845⅔innings
Hisashi Iwakuma/Japan/63-39/ERA 3.42/883⅔innings
Kenta Maeda/Japan/59-45/ERA 3.98/778 innings
Chen Wein/Taiwan/59-51/ERA 4.18/1064⅔innings
April started off badly. He has a 3.60 earned run average with 1 win and 2 losses in 5 games. In a well-pitched game, victory did not follow. On the 5th of last month, against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he failed to record a win or loss with 3 hits, 3 strikeouts, 6 walks and 1 run in 5 innings. On April 11, against the New York Mets, he suffered his first loss of the season with 6 hits, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks and 5 runs in 6⅓ innings.
However, on April 17 against the Milwaukee Brewers, he became a losing pitcher in 7 innings, 4 hits, 12 strikeouts, 2 walks and 1 run. On April 24th, against Arizona, 2 hits, 5 strikeouts, 5 walks and 1 run in 5⅔ innings, his first belated win of the season. It seemed to work out so well, but in the last game of the Mexico Series against the San Francisco Giants on the 1st, 6 innings, 9 hits, 9 strikeouts and 4 runs were not recorded. After hitting three home runs, he shook slightly.
Even if Darvish accumulates 5 wins every year for 6 years from this year, he can surpass Park Chan-ho at the end of the contract period and rise to the top spot with the most wins in Asian major leagues. However, considering that his athletic ability may suddenly drop due to his considerable age, it is advantageous to increase the pace at the beginning of the six-year contract. With simple calculations, if he wins 10 every year, he can become the first player in Asia to reach 150 wins. ㅋㅋㅋ벳
The variable is the San Diego batting line. He is a super-luxurious lineup, but his productivity at the beginning of the season is expected. The flow changed while sweeping the Mexico Series, but Estadio Alfredo Half Helu, where the game was held, is in a high mountain area. It should be taken into account that the distance of the batted ball came out more than on the flat ground. Anyway, for Darvish, if you get more scoring support, you can increase the pace of accruing multipliers in May.
Except for Darvish, there are no Asian major league pitchers who will challenge for 100 wins, let alone Park Chan-ho and Nomo Hideo, who are second in the league. Ryu Hyun-jin, who will return in the second half, needs to win 25 more. It is expected that he will successfully recover this year and remain in the major leagues in the coming winter to look for 100 wins.
In addition, Maeda (Minnesota Twins), who has 59 wins, returned after a year and a half after Tommy John surgery and rehabilitation, but was recently placed on the injured list again. Perhaps Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels), who has 32 victories in his career, might take aim at Park Chan-ho in the future.