Yu Darvish wears an exclusive Nike model glove and Nike Air Show Elite 2 cleats.
Here’s a quick little background on Darvish, lifted from Wikipedia:
“Darvish was born in Habikino, Osaka, to an Iranian father, Farsad Darvishsefat, and a Japanese mother, Ikuyo.[4] His parents met at Eckerd College, a liberal arts school in St. Petersburg, Florida, where his father played for the college soccer team.[5][6] His grandfather owned a travel agency in Iran, and decided to send his son Farsad to the United States in 1977 to attend high school in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, where he also raced competitively in motocross.”
Ho, hum… Just your everyday Japanese/Iranian Japan League pitcher who’s family is from St. Petersburg via Berkshire County, Mass. where his father was a motocross racer… Huh?
(At least watch the first 10 seconds or so, where one guy legitimately twists himself into the ground trying to catch up with Yu’s fastball)
Though Darvish had American ties and was scouted extensively by MLB teams since junior high, Darvish insisted on playing in Japan. Making his NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) debut at 18 years old, Yu pitched his way to an absurd 93-38 record and 1.99 ERA in seven seasons. At that point, he hopped the pond, joining a Texas team that came within one pitch (TWICE!!!) of a World Series victory.
Darvish definitely has a flair, and his glove follows suit. He wears a custom Nike I could find no information on whatsoever. You can just search Google Images for Yu and you’ll see it from every angle, but there’s nothing out there like it.
Like Matt Kemp’s glove, Nike Japan has some very slick looking gloves that just aren’t available here in the States. I’m sure if you had a connect in Asia you could hook it up, but I am not that connect (yet). I’m not even sure what the design is supposed to be on Darvish’s web, but that is definitely an Eastern World style, as many Japanese gloves have some kind of graphic on the outside of the web. He also has his name written in blue script “DarVish Yu,” with his family name first, which is customary in Japan. UPDATE (10/20/2012): WPW reader Noah came up huge this week, finding Yu’s Nike leather. We now know the model number is BF1571, and it is available at several Japanese retailers online (link is below). Its available at a few different retailers but some don’t ship internationally. You’ll have to check it out for yourself.
Darvish wears an exclusive pair of the Nike Air Show Elite 2 cleats. His are similar to the pair in the feature photo, but you can see the strip on his toe is red and the rubber front sole is white—and he wears red laces. Nike Air Show Elite 2 cleats are available online, just not in his exclusive colorway.
On his neck, Yu has his own signature Phiten x50 necklace that doesn’t look like it’s for sale in his exact colors, but the x50 style is available online, as is his older exclusive version he wore in the NPB.
Darvish’s x50 with a Texas Ranger red, white and blue weave.
Though he hasn’t worn them pitching, Darvish has been seen with Oakley Radar Path sunglasses, with the Carbon Fiber style you see in the feature. You’ll need to go through the Oakley Custom Builder, and here’s how you’d build Yu’s shades:
- Frame: Carbon Fiber Print
- Lens: Ice Iridium Path
- Icon: Polished Chrome
- Earsock: Black
Just because, here’s Yu dominating my Yankees:
And here are the links:
Nike BF1571 Glove (Thanks to WPW reader Noah with a huge find)
Nike Air Show Elite 2 Cleats (not Yu’s exact colorway, but plenty available)
Oakley Custom Builder (See the specs above for Yu’s sunglasses)
Phiten x50 Necklace (in this search you will see Yu’s old Japan style, which is still pretty tight)
Yu Darvish glove is a Nike baseball Japan Glove nikebaseball.jp They have different models and you can customize them. There are like 20 different web styles. Wilson, Rawlings, and Mizuno all have Japan websites with Japan exclusive styles. You can purchase them at rakuten.com for about $450.
You can buy Darvish’s glove for about $150 here: http://www.baseman.co.jp/shopping/products/313194/
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