The son of San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish (39) is drawing attention as he enters a U.S. university.
Japanese outlet Sponichi Annex reported on the 11th, "It has been revealed that Padres pitcher Yu Darvish's son, Shoei Darvish, is joining the baseball team of the prestigious University of California, San Diego (UCSD), the 'Tritons.' This was announced on the team's official website."
Darvish is a veteran starting pitcher who has appeared in 297 major league games (1,778 innings), compiling a 115-93 record with a 3.65 earned run average. Having played for Texas, the Dodgers and the Cubs, Darvish has spent five seasons with San Diego.
In 2023, Darvish signed a six-year, $108 million contract with San Diego (about 158.9 billion won). This year, due to injury he was limited to 15 games (72 innings), going 5-5 with a 5.38 ERA. After the season he underwent elbow surgery and is expected to be unable to pitch in the 2026 season.
UCSD announced incoming freshmen joining the baseball team and included the news of Shoei Darvish's enrollment. Coach Newman introduced Shoei, saying, "Shoei has the competitive drive and focus you would expect from a player with major leaguer bloodlines. Considering his fastball, a variety of off-speed pitches and his high baseball IQ, his growth potential is enormous. I'm really looking forward to how he develops in our program."
There have been relatively many father-son players in major league history. Representative examples include Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr., Cal Ripken Sr. and Cal Ripken Jr., and Cecil Fielder and Prince Fielder. However, no father-son pair has yet come from Asia.
If Shoei Darvish, who entered a U.S. university, participates in the major league amateur draft and succeeds in making his major league debut, Yu Darvish and Shoei Darvish could become the first father-son major leaguers from Asia.
However, UCSD is not a school that has produced many major leaguers. While it has produced many drafted players, seven players have reached the major leagues. None became regular major leaguers; the player with the most games played was Edgar Gonzalez, who appeared in 193 games over two seasons (2008–2009) with San Diego, hitting .255 (122 hits in 478 at-bats) with 11 home runs, 51 RBIs, 54 runs, 2 stolen bases and an OPS of .693.
[OSEN]