Yu Darvish earns 200th career win across Japan and MLB, a first for a Japanese pitcher

On May 30, 2025, Yu Darvish earned his 200th professional win, counting both Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB, Japan's top league) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He was pitching for the San Diego Padres, having returned that season after an extended absence caused by an elbow problem and personal reasons.

The total combined about 93 wins in Japan, where he starred for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, with the rest coming in the United States after he moved to MLB in 2012. He pitched for the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and Padres.

The milestone mattered because it put Darvish in rare company among Japanese pitchers. Japan's own 200-win club traditionally counts only NPB victories, so the combined mark reflected a career spanning two countries and more than two decades. It also underlined how much value he still offered the Padres as a veteran starter, a point that came back into focus when questions arose about his future after later injury rehabilitation.