Darvish holds farewell news conference for 10,000 fans at Sapporo Dome

On the news they were showing him taking batting practice.........................why?

He will lose his id at the cost of $60M and become just one of the players in MLB. Stats will speak louder than my words.

He came out and said that players in the American league are better. I am surprised there hasn't been a backlash against him for his comments. He sounds arrogant as heck in the comments above - and looked so when talking yesterday.

He's a great pitcher but personally, I think his personality sucks.

but, did he cry?

He didn't! Not from what I was forced to watch - husband and all...

Baseball is more important to you than fatherhood, I just hope you're still in regular contact with your kids. Keep living your American Dream arrogant boy.

"I used to feel that Japan provided the best environment for me. But I came to believe that I needed to change that environment and move to the majors," he said.

This guy is smart. Some of us can read between the lines. Divorce in Japan is brutal and tilted against the man.

@Oginome Baseball is more important to you than fatherhood Don't you dare criticize him!!! You have no idea what Japan's family court system does to father's. You act as if he had a choice. There's nothing you can say about him this would disqualify him as a father. He's not an alcoholic, drug user, violent man, deviant of some sort. He's the man that carried Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

Sorry Oginome but your answer tells me that you don't know what's happening to a lot of men, fathers here in Japan. I think you just want your baseball star.

We can't criticize the man. He's not ignoring fatherhood. Japan legally takes it away from him. He is stripped of it in Japan's mediEVIL family court system. That child is 50% his own flesh and blood and he has no access to the child according to Japanese law. There's no joint custody here. Will you stick around and pitch for the people who stand apathetic to what's happening to you?

I'm guessing he probably got a real wake up call when he went through his divorce. Baseball pays the rent so it's not fair to question his devotion as a PROFESSIONAL.

Would you pitch for a society that has stacked the deck against you? Nah, he's not arrogant. Japan doesn't know how to treat those who are mixed.

He's not an alcoholic, drug user, violent man, deviant of some sort.

He's a liar, a cheater and has a well known pachinko problem. With Ogi on this one. With his fame, he could have easily got visitation rights - we don't know that he's been stripped of anything as the details of the divorce and the custody haven't been made public.. He had a choice - stay at home with his wife and kids. He didn't do that. I am very, very vocal on the way men get treated by the courts here when it comes to their kids but in Darvish's case, HE was the one that walked out. He clearly wasn't ready for kids nor marriage.

Though I will agree with - Japan doesn't know how to treat those who are mixed. He's commented before on bullying though in this case, I don't think him being half has anything to do with the issues at hand.

@tmarie

I don't think him being half has anything to do with the issues at hand.

Well, that's the problem. Now Tmarie....don't think I'm knocking ya HUGZZZ okay, but lets get down to the nitty gritty. No one is qualified to dispute a foreigner who claims that he has been treated unfairly based on the skin he's in.

Being different, especially in this nation, is always in play. Always!!! I don't doubt it. I don't try to adapt. It doesn't get you anywhere but "domesticated". That's a word we use for pets and it's a look down.

The only real issue I had with some comments was him being blasted as if he ignored fatherhood when they don't know Japan's family court system. That's a beat down. See it for what it is Tmarie. They took away his rights to see his children. His LEGAL rights, no joint custody. Now, we got haters calling him a bad father on his way out the court house and country. WHAT??

I bet if Japan wanted him to stay they'd bend the rules for him and only him. Gag order and all. Seriously, if I could dunk all day and night and averaged 25points a game. I'd be Japanese too.

Don't you dare criticize him!!!

But it's true, he could have stayed in Japan with the kids or else fly off to America to play baseball. He chose the latter.

He's a liar, a cheater and has a well known pachinko problem. With Ogi on this one. With his fame, he could have easily got visitation rights - we don't know that he's been stripped of anything as the details of the divorce and the custody haven't been made public.. He had a choice - stay at home with his wife and kids. He didn't do that. I am very, very vocal on the way men get treated by the courts here when it comes to their kids but in Darvish's case, HE was the one that walked out. He clearly wasn't ready for kids nor marriage. I hope he's learned his lesson and uses protection when he's living it up in the US.

Nothing I need to add to this. Agree completely.

The only real issue I had with some comments was him being blasted as if he ignored fatherhood when they don't know Japan's family court system.

Not 'as if', he is ignoring fatherhood. Celebrities get preferential, demigod treatment everywhere, and like tmarie said, the custody and divorce arrangments haven't been made public. We're going on what is undoubtedly the truth, and that's arrogant, unlikeable Darvish going to a different country to play baseball and leaving his kids behind. He's not likeable and not an 'outstanding human being' like you claimed before.

Readers, please do not turn this thread into a hate-filled rant against Darvish.

Darvish will get the best BBQ in the world.

Darvish will get the best BBQ in the world.

Only if there's inter-league play and the Rangers come to Atlanta. (It's too bad places like Memphis and Raleigh don't have teams.)

ah, i see that the usual self-righteous, highly judgmental comments are still in existence. (yes, it makes me a hypocrite also)

I would like to see precious news time used in a better way. The man won't get off my screen. He is more visible than AKB48

I like Darvish. He is cool. Maybe a little cocky with statements about being the best, but hey, when did being the best or wanting to be the best become a bad thing. Give him a year against the steroid greats of America, and he may get a little more humble. If he can outdo Nolan Ryan, I'll have that much more respect for him.

Just a funny point. Darvish was photographed wearing a marijuana t-shirt in America. Some reporter asked him why the t-shirt, he said something like, Japanese don't pay attention to the English written on shirts..... He just threw it on.

His younger brother got in trouble for pot. So, I believe he knows what it is about. The American press will not let him slide too easily. Give the press some time to get into attack mode, if his new handlers don't help him out, he is going to get killed by the press and Polyanna style American conservatism.

I love Darvish, I just hope he is more careful with those crazy t shirts, the big old weed leaf, on that t shirt is DAME DAME, now he is a hero to kids here in Japan and from now he will be a hero to kids in the USA, but wearing a big old marijuana leaf print on your t shirts, hats etc..sure way to cause a stupid scandal, culture shock?? So I agree 100% with viking69 too!

Good luck to him. I hope he makes a splash over there, instead of sinking like Matsuzuka; the public here made even more of a big deal with him going to the majors than they are of Darvish. Maybe they learned something.

tmarie: "He came out and said that players in the American league are better. I am surprised there hasn't been a backlash against him for his comments."

Agreed, but the people I've talked to haven't even acknowledged this -- I don't know if it was printed in the Japanese media or not. Instead they are talking about how he was offered an MLB job awhile back but refused it because he wanted to prove to Japan he was 'Japanese' and hone his skills here. Seems he has changed his tune a little, but if people dissed his 'half' nationality before, they are not dissing it now but embracing him as completely Japanese here.

As for the child issue, I agree and disagree with you guys. It's not a simple, one-sided issue. Yes, of course, he could have stayed in Japan to be with his partner and children, but it doesn't sound like that was the root of the problem, it just sounds like the excuse they needed to divorce. And if that's the case I'm not sure he would be a better father for staying. I DO hope he demands visitation rights, and agree that if he does not he is scum for that, but the issue's not so simple. His spouse could have easily been more supportive as well, so again it's not so one-sided. What 'safety' issues would the children risk by being in the US? It's not like they were moving to Iraq.

Anyway, as I said, I hope he does more to justify all this fanfare than a few of his predecessors have.