Darvish, who was timely hit by Lee Bum-ho, is now transforming into a special helper, "Committed to winning the WBC with charisma → left after the team dinner.""

*This content was translated by AI.

The 23-year-old ace, who bowed his head to South Korea's Lee Bum-ho in the 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) final, is now a veteran and has led the Japanese national team's preparation for the championship. Darvish Yu (40), a member of the San Diego Padres, played a key role in the Japanese national team as an "advisor" rather than a "player."

Japan's WBC national team, which aims to win its second consecutive tournament, completed its reinforcement training camp in Miyazaki, Japan, on the 24th and began a full-fledged practice system. Darvish was by far the most prominent person in this camp. Despite failing to participate in the tournament due to surgery on his right elbow in October last year, he made an unusual move to participate in the pre-training schedule, saying, "I will do anything for the team" at the request of national team coach Hirokazu Ibata (51).

According to Japanese Sports Hochi and Japanese baseball media Full Count, Darvish joined the Japanese national team camp for as many as 11 days and left various advice. In addition to the pitch-com adaptation problem, he has actively given advice on other parts of the Japanese professional baseball (NPB) such as pitch clock and official ball. Even if you look at the official SNS of the Japanese national team, Darvish is seen watching the pitchers' training and giving advice.

Darvish is a right-handed fireballer representing Japan. He is considered to have outstanding star quality because he has not only good looks but also excellent skills. Darvish, who made his professional debut with the Nippon Ham Fighters in 2005, entered the Major League with a record of 93-38 with a 1.99 ERA in 167 games during seven seasons of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The Japanese national team also won the World Baseball Classic in 2009 and 2023. In particular, in the final of the 2009 tournament, Japan gave a timely hit to current KIA Tigers coach Lee Bum-ho (45) in the bottom of the ninth inning with a 3-2 lead. In the end, Japan won 5-3 after a close game of extra time.

Darvish, who is raising the possibility of retiring from the Major League, first committed to winning the WBC. Beyond simple encouragement, he focused on practical technology transfer. In particular, it is said that they worked hard on responding to pitch clocks and pitch com that are not in NPB. Darvish told the pitchers, "We need to save time to shake our heads at the catcher's sign. Rather, the pitcher gave specific guidelines that said, "The pitcher should give the signature himself." After a series of pitch clock violations in a practice game against Softbank on the 23rd, Darvish once again convened the pitching staff and left detailed feedback.

Darvish's true value shone even more in his "binding power" outside the mound. On the 23rd, ahead of the end of his camp, Darvish hosted a 'yakiniku (bulgogi) dinner' in which only the team participated. This dinner was a farewell party for Darvish, who finished their camp, and welcomed the joining of Major League Baseball players Tomoyuki Sugano (38, Colorado Rockies) and Yusei Kikuchi (35, LA Angels).

"It's the last day of Darvish and the first day of Sugano and Kikuchi, so we're all together," said Kensuke Kondo (Softbank), chairman of the Japan Players Association and outfielder. Shortstop Sosuke Genda (Seibu) also smiled, saying, "Only the players gathered and communicated happily." Kikuchi thanked Darvish, saying, "We had a lot of conversations about the team situation before he left the team."

Although Darvish leaves the national team, he seems to be leaving with a 'one-team' spirit. Darvish posted a picture on his social media right after the company dinner, saying, "Kikuchi brought a large amount of wine and had a very good time. I'm going back to my family now, but I hope the players will have a healthy tournament. I'm looking forward to an outstanding performance at Tokyo Dome. The same goes for Miami."

After the Miyazaki training camp, the Japanese national team will now move to Nagoya. It will play a warm-up match against the Chunichi Dragons on the 27th and 28th, and from this schedule, Major League fielders such as "Superstar" Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers), Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs), and Masataka Yoshida (Boston Red Sox) are expected to join to gain full strength.

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*This content was translated by AI.