Padres' Yu Darvish on cusp of professional baseball history

Of the starting pitchers on the San Diego Padres, none has had a more impressive career than Yu Darvish. The 38-year-old has carved out an incredible professional career between MLB and NPB.

As Bob Nightengale of USA Today mentions in his latest article, the Padres starter is closing in on some incredible professional baseball history. 

"San Diego Padres starter Yu Darvish," Nightengale writes, "In his 20th professional season, needs just one more victory for the most wins by a Japanese pitcher. He has won 110 games in MLB and 93 in Nippon Professional Baseball, tied with Hiroki Kuroda."

Darvish started his professional career in 2005 with the Nippon Ham Fighters. In that season, he had a 3.53 ERA and a. 5-5 record. That would be the last time Darvish didn't have a winning season during his seven years in the NPB.

From 2005 to 2011, Darvish had a  93-38 record and had a 1.99 ERA in 167 games pitched. He also struck out 1,250 batters during his NPB career, averaging over 178 per season.

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In 2012, Darvish began his MLB career. While he missed the 2015 season, Darvish, since 2012, has been remarkable in the Majors. He's gone 112-89 with a 3.59 ERA in 284 games pitched. He also has struck out 2,014 batters in his MLB career.

Overall, in his incredible 20-year professional career, Darvish has 203 wins, 3,308 strikeouts, and is only one win away from having the most career wins by a Japanese pitcher.

The Padres pitcher is closing in on an incredible achievement and will get a chance to set such a record after the All-Star break. The next start for Darvish is scheduled for a July 20th matchup against the Washington Nationals.

He's had two chances this season to set this record, but after going 0-1 with a 6.48 ERA in his first two starts, Darvish will look to finally make history against the Nationals after the All-Star break. 

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