San Diego Padres Pitcher Hits Incredible Milestone in Baseball History

Yu Darvish has now done something that no Japanese pitcher has ever done before.

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish (11) pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Petco Park on Sept 22. / Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

Congratulations are in order for San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish, who became the first Japanese player in Major League Baseball history to record 2,000 career strikeouts.

He did it on Sunday afternoon as the Padres were playing the Chicago White Sox.

Yu Darvish is the first Japanese born pitcher to reach 2,000 strikeouts in MLB! pic.twitter.com/AxZJcRq0yX

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 22, 2024

The 38-year-old Darvish is in his 12th major league season with the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Padres. He came to the United States in 2012 and was part of Japan's World Baseball Classic winning team in 2023.

Entering play on Sunday, he was 109-88 in his major league career. He's won double-digit games in five different seasons of his career, including 16 wins in both 2012 and 2022. With Darvish back in the fold after a lengthy absence this season, the Padres are certainly a scary team heading into the National League playoffs. He'd pair with Joe Musgrove, Michael King and Dylan Cease as rotation options in a playoff series.

The Padres are currently the top wild card team in the National League playoff picture. At this moment they'd be playing the Arizona Diamondbacks or New York Mets in a playoff series.

At the time of this posting, Darvish has completed five innings with eight strikeouts. The Padres and White Sox are tied at 1-1.

If the White Sox go onto lose, they'd tie the 1962 Mets for the most losses in a season with 120. The Padres will be back in action on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. The Padres still have an outside chance at winning the National League West.