Yu Should Feel at Home in DFW

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Yu Darvish signing is whether Yu can acclimate himself to American society after being near-Beatle status in Japan for the last five years.

Some folks have expressed concerns that Darvish could get homesick after a year or two and either want to go back to Japan or just lose his mental focus. But that shouldn't be a problem in the Rangers clubhouse.

True, most Japanese imports prefer to go play on the coasts, specifically the West Coast, which is closest in proximity to the Far East, but why not meet in the middle?

It's not that DFW is a haven for the Asian, or that there's a seafood or sushi joint on every corner like Ichiro has the luxury of in Seattle, but Darvish should be comfortable in Arlington because of the people he will have around him.

The Rangers currently employ relief pitchers Koji Uehara and Yoshinori Tateyama, who was a teammate of Darvish's in Japan at one time.

Rangers GM Jon Daniels spoke to The Musers on KTCK-1310 AM Thursday morning, saying Tateyama was in contact with Darvish letting him know how welcoming the clubhouse was to him when he arrived last season.

That homey feeling Darvish will hopefully have doesn't even include Colby Lewis, who pitched in Japan in 2008 and 2009, where he led the Japan Central League in strikeouts. Lewis undoubtedly speaks some Japanese, but it's not like Darvish is totally unaware of the Western world.

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Darvish is the son of a Iranian father and a Japanese mother, who met at Eckerd College in Florida, so you have to believe his parents both speak English. And that would lead you to believe Darvish has a decent grasp of the language.

So yeah, it'll be a culture shock for Darvish, but he'll be far from a fish out of water.

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