Padres Pitching Coach Calls Friars All-Star a 'Generational Pitcher'

Padres right-hander Yu Darvish can throw left-handed, a skill he's flashed often in the decade-plus since he came to Major League Baseball from Japan — just not in a game.

Videos of Darvish throwing left-handed in non-game situations have made the social media rounds over the years.

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Here's one of Darvish in a Texas Rangers uniform, for whom he played from 2012-17, warming up left-handed in the Fenway Park bullpen:

Here's another of Darvish in a Chicago Cubs uniform, circa 2018-20:

11 Yu Darvish Fun Facts

8️⃣ Darvish occasionally throws left-handed to stay balanced. Reports vary but it’s said he can throw between 82-85 MPH with the oft hand. pic.twitter.com/YZw3jMIRVB
— Al Scott (@AlScott1998) March 19, 2023

Darvish, 37, has 14 hits in his major league career as a hitter. All came right-handed, though as this video demonstrates he can hit a ball a long way left-handed, too:

Darvish hasn't needed his bat since the National League adopted the designated hitter rule permanently in 2022. But he still warms up left-handed on occasion, as evidenced by this video posted to Twitter/X on Tuesday by Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla:

Yu Darvish body control and balance is special. Generational Pitcher. @faridyu pic.twitter.com/dpRlwGzAmo
— Ruben Niebla (@RubenFog57) August 12, 2025

"Yu Darvish body control and balance is special," Niebla wrote. "Generational pitcher."

Darvish doesn't warm up left-handed for amusement. Rather, he does so to balance the left and right hemispheres of his body.

In a 2019 interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Darvish told Gordon Wittenmyer he began throwing left-handed in junior high school, when he was 14.

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"At that time, it was not so good,” he said. “But it’s getting better since I’ve come to MLB.”

While with Hokkaido Nippon Ham of the Pacific League, Darvish would throw from the left side on the first day after a start, the Dallas Morning News' Gerry Fraley reported in 2012.

In 2012, an image of Darvish throwing left-handed made its way onto a Topps baseball card.

During his recovery from Tommy John surgery (2015-16), Darvish said he was clocked throwing 79 mph left -handed.

But he's sworn off the idea of trying it in a game.

“No chance,” Darvish told Wittenmyer. “I can’t throw strikes. And my left elbow is not good.”

At least it looks good. Darvish throwing with his "wrong" hand looks better than many throwing with their dominant hand.

Darvish is 112-91 with a 3.62 ERA in 289 career starts in MLB. In five seasons with the Padres, he's 41-35 with a 3.89 ERA in 107 starts.

So far this season, Davish is 2-3 with a 5.61 ERA in seven games. After returning from the injured list in July, Darvish got off to a slow start. He was 0-3 with a 9.18 ERA after his first four outings.

But Darvish is 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA in three games since, offering a sliver of faith that he'll continue to be productive over the final three years of his six-year, $108 million contract. He didn't even have to switch hands.

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