Darvish is a given name and a surname. It is an alternate transliteration of the Persian word "dervish", referring to a Sufi aspirant.
The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at the Sapporo Dome. The Fighters also host a select number of regional home games in cities across Hokkaidō, including Hakodate, Asahikawa, Kushiro, and Obihiro. The team's name comes from its parent organization, Nippon Ham, a major Japanese food-processing company.
Yulieski Gourriel Castillo, commonly known as Yuli Gurriel and nicknamed "La Piña", is a Cuban professional baseball first baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for Sancti Spiritus in the Cuban league and the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Gurriel is a former member of Cuba's national team. Always a versatile infielder, he has played shortstop, second base, and third base, but has played mostly first base with the Astros.
Farid Yu Darvishsefat, more commonly known as Yu Darvish, is a Japanese professional baseball starting pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Darvish has also played in MLB for the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs and in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. In international play, Darvish pitched in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2009 World Baseball Classic as a member of the Japanese national team.
The second annual Konami Cup Asia Series was held in November 2006 with four teams participating. The champions from the domestic leagues in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan along with an all-star team from China took part in the competition. All games were held in the Tokyo Dome in Japan. The tournament was sponsored by the Nippon Professional Baseball Association and Konami. The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters defeated the La New Bears in the title game to win the championship for Japan. Starting pitcher Yu Darvish was named the MVP of the series.
The Eiji Sawamura Award, commonly known as the Sawamura Award, is an honor bestowed upon the top starting pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball each year.
Hisashi Iwakuma is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes from 2000 to 2004, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles from 2005 to 2011, and Yomiuri Giants in 2019, and all of his time in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners from 2012 to 2017. Iwakuma retired in 2020 due to lingering shoulder issues that had prevented him from playing that year.
Hideaki Wakui is a Japanese Professional baseball pitcher for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Seibu Lions / Saitama Seibu Lions and Chiba Lotte Marines.
Yoshihisa Naruse is a Japanese baseball player. He is a pitcher for the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball. He made his debut in the 2006 season. In 2007, Naruse had his best season as a professional in his short career. All season long he was competing with Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters superstar Yu Darvish for the Eiji Sawamura Award, the award for best pitcher in all of Japan. In 24 starts, Naruse was 16–1 with a 1.82 ERA, with 138 strikeouts and only 27 walks in 173 and 1/3 innings. Darvish, by comparison, was 15–5 in 26 starts, also compiling a 1.82 ERA, but not only did he throw more complete games than Naruse, but Darvish also threw more innings, but he struck out more batters, with 210 punch-outs. The two ended up facing each other in the 2007 Pacific League Championship Series' deciding Game 5. Darvish triumphed over Naruse at Sapporo Dome, and the Fighters won Game 5 and the series 3–2, setting up a rematch of the 2006 Japan Series with the Chunichi Dragons. Naruse ultimately lost out to Darvish for the Sawamura Award in 2007.
Satoshi Komatsu is a retired Japanese pitcher who played his entire career in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Orix Buffaloes in Japan's Pacific League.
The 2009 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters season was the 64th season for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters franchise.
Chihiro Kaneko is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Nippon Professional Baseball(NPB). He previously played for the Orix Buffaloes.
Yoshinori Tateyama is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Hanshin Tigers.
The 2008 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters season was the 63rd season of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters franchise. The Fighters played the majority of their home games at Sapporo Dome in the city of Sapporo, as well as at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo as members of Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League. The team was led by Masataka Nashida on his first season as team manager.
The 2012 Texas Rangers season was the 52nd season in the overall history of the franchise and the 41st since the team relocated to Arlington, Texas. The Rangers entered the season as the two-time defending champions of the American League and the AL West. They led the division for most of the season and had a 13-game lead on June 30, but faltered down the stretch. They finished 93-69, but were swept in the last series of the season by the Oakland Athletics and wound up second to the Athletics in the division. They then lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the Wild Card Game and were eliminated from the playoffs.
Nicholas Andres Martinez is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers and for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Zachary Ryan Davies is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres.
Akira Noguchi was a Japanese baseball pitcher, infielder, catcher, and manager who played 15 total seasons in the Japanese Baseball League and then Nippon Professional Baseball, during the period 1936 to 1955. The rare two-way player, Noguchi was particularly unusual in that he excelled in the specialized positions of both pitcher and catcher.
