Darvish gained more notoriety when, in 2005, while in his first Spring training, he was discovered smoking in a pachinko parlor on a non-playing day despite not being of legal gambling or smoking age.
His high school suspended him as a result of the event, and the Fighters put him on indefinite probation and required him to perform community service.
Darvish made his professional debut later that season, taking the mound on June 15 against the Carp in an interleague game, despite his suspension.
He threw 8+ innings on those two runs alone and secured the win despite giving up back-to-back solo home runs in the ninth, making him the 12th pitcher in NPB history to do it as a rookie right out of high school.
As a rookie out of high school, he became the 14th pitcher in NPB history to throw a complete game shutout, with his first complete game win against the Lions on August 6 and his first full game shutout against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on September 18.
In 14 starts, he had a 5-5 record with an ERA of 3.53 while pitching 94+13 innings. With a 12-5 record, 115 strikeouts, and 2.89 ERA in 2006, Darvish enjoyed a breakthrough season.
He particularly went 10-0 after May 30, helping the Fighters win their first Pacific League championship since 1981 (his winning streak continued until April 14 of the following season, when it reached 12-0), and helped them defeat the Dragons in the Japan Series to win their first championship since 1961.
What Is Yu Darvish Ethnicity?
Yu Darvish is of mixed ethnicity. He is Japanese-Iranian. He is Iranian on his father’s side and Japanese on his mother’s side.