Tag Archives: Yu Darvish

Murakami takes Darvish deep

Yu Darvish threw some live BP at Samurai Japan’s WBC training camp in Miyazaki on Tuesday. The first batter he faced, Munetaka Murakami, took him out to dead center, and I’ve got the video, and an English translation of Darvish’s media availability afterward.

“My goal today was more to get a feel for things rather than being precise in my deliveries,” Darvish said. “It was really fun with so many fans coming out to see us.”

“The instant he (Murakami) hit it, I thought it was gone. But for him to do that so soon into my stint, and to hit it where he did, I felt a little sad.”

Continue reading Murakami takes Darvish deep

NPB news: Jan. 6, 2023

Samurai Japan manager Hideki Kuriyama announced the first 12 players for his preliminary 30-man World Baseball Classic roster on Friday, a list that included the first three of Japan’s MLB players to commit, Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish and Seiya Suzuki.

They were joined by some obvious choices, Japan’s back-to-back MVPS, the Central League’s triple crown-winning Yakult Swallows third baseman Munetaka Murakami, and Pacific League pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who also grabbed his second straight Sawamura Award last autumn.

Roki Sasaki, too, made the first list of what will in the end include 30 names for the March tourney.

Continue reading NPB news: Jan. 6, 2023