There’s more to Chicago Cubs hurler Yu Darvish than his pitching

An interview with Chicago Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish reveals how much the 32-year-old right-hander has worked off the field to help others in need.

This has been a very big year for Yu Darvish personally. He has worked very hard at speaking fluent English over the years and finally started doing it this spring. Since he started speaking English in front of the media and in public, he has been able to express himself better and conduct some more personal interviews, allowing Chicago Cubs fans to get to know him a bit better.

Infield Chatter, which is run and produced by the MLBPA, sat down with Darvish to discuss his personal life. The right-hander mentions in this interview that while his English speaking is more “average” or “consistent” on a daily basis, he still is working on it. He even tweeted out that he was admittedly nervous but grateful he got the opportunity to be interviewed.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups
• Cubs: P.J. Higgins deserves to be in the lineup on a daily basis

"“I couldn’t speak English a lot, and so you know people [didn’t] have a chance to know me.”"

In the interview itself, he goes into the charitable work he does off the field. Much of his money goes to various causes and he credits his father for teaching him that as a kid. It all started when his father’s native Iran suffered an earthquake and Darvish donated his allowance money to the cause.

To this day Yu Darvish continues to give money to a number of causes, including natural disaster relief, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and clean water for developing countries. The Yu Darvish Water Fund was established in 2007 and he donates 100,000 JPY for every win he records. According to the Infield Chatter video, he has donated millions for all these causes.

"“I want to help people,” he said. “Lots of people.”"

Since the 2019 pre-season workouts started, we have been treated to more of Darvish’s personality. He has been funny on Twitter and in interviews and seems to be looser with his teammates. Now we get to learn more about what just kind of generous person he is. It has been common knowledge that he has donated to causes but we are learning the specifics now and it is quite remarkable.

This is not something he is doing because he is making a lot of money now, but this is something he has been doing since childhood. It is part of his values in life. Not only does Darvish work hard on the field but he puts in so much time to help others. That is the type of sports figure that can inspire millions of people. So next time you find yourself looking at the $20-23 million he makes annually, remember, a chunk of that is going to greater causes in the end.

It is really hard to have bad feelings toward Darvish after reading all this, despite the rough and frustrating start he had as a Cub last season. The man himself is awesome and someone who deserves the utmost respect.