Even though he’s tied for the AL lead in victories with 10, Rangers import Yu Darvish doesn’t feel he’s done enough to represent the league in next month’s All-Star Game.
“But personally do I feel like I’m an All-Star? I don’t think so,” Darvish said through an interpreter Friday. “I’m also hearing that there’s a possibility I might start in an All-Star Game, and to me, that’s totally out of context, I think.”
Since the Rangers went to the World Series last year, Darvish’s manager, Ron Washington, will be in charge of picking the pitching staff. Still, Darvish seems to see the big picture and won’t mind not being picked.
“I think the fact that I’m Japanese, first year over here, the Texas Rangers paid a lot of money for me to come over here,” he said. “The fact that I’m an All-Star candidate, it’s more of a buildup of who I am and where I came from and the media creating this type (of hype).”
Darvish is certainly partly right, but the fact that he is tied for the league lead in wins and fourth in strikeouts would make him an All-Star candidate even if his name was John Smith. Plus, while he has been a bit of a disappointment in the ERA department, he still ranks 16th in the league despite working in a tough park for pitchers.
Still, Darvish certainly seems to mean well here. And by essentially taking himself out of the running, he’s aiding his teammate’s case for a spot: Matt Harrison is 10-3 with a 3.24 ERA, making him deserving of strong consideration.
