Texas Rangers Pitcher Yu Darvish Has A Museum in Japan

facebooktwitterreddit

The Space 11 Darvish Museum opened in November of 2013. The museum features roughly 100 items related to Yu Darvish. Before becoming an top Major League pitcher, Darvish was a star pitcher in Japan.

Yu Darvish signed a six-year $56 million dollar deal with the Texas Rangers in 2012. Before signing with the Rangers, Darvish played from 2005-2011 with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan. Darvish started his career as an 18-year-old and quickly became one of the top pitchers in Japan.

Darvish went 93-38 during his seven-year career in Japan. Posting an ERA under two in five consecutive seasons.  Darvish was nearly untouchable as he struck out 200 or more batters in a season four times during his seven-year career.

It is clear Darvish was one of the best pitchers in Japan, and they made sure to honor their beloved star. The Space 11 Darvish Museum opened at 11:11 a.m. on November 11 in honor of Darvish’s uniform number 11.

More from Nolan Writin'

Darvish spent his childhood in Kobe, and often went to a sports club there while living in neighboring Osaka Prefecture. According to Japan Times the museum includes the glove and uniform from Darvish’s no-hitter in the 2004 and a computer graphics system that allows visitors to virtually hit his pitches.

The Japanese star has continued his success since leaving Japan in 2012. Darvish has been to three All-Star games in four seasons with the Rangers. Finishing third in the Rookie of the Year balloting in 2012 and finished second in the CY Young award race in 2013. Whether it’s in Japan or Arlington the now 30-year-old pitcher continues to succeed.