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Chicago Cubs: Yu Darvish quickly becoming a top Cubs personality

By Ryan O'Rourke |
Yu Darvish, Chicago Cubs (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
Yu Darvish, Chicago Cubs (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
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Yu Darvish, Chicago Cubs (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)
Yu Darvish, Chicago Cubs (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images) /

For as cold of an offseason the Chicago Cubs had, veteran pitcher Yu Darvish has been handing out sick burns and becoming one of Chicago’s most entertaining sports personalities.

Nothing is better in sports than a good sports personality. Compared to its fellow professional sports, the MLB has somewhat lacked famous characters outside of the baseball diamond. Mike Trout, the game’s best player, is more focused on being an absolute murderer in baseball and an overall generous guy rather than speaking his mind or throwing shade on Twitter.

The Chicago Cubs aren’t necessarily short on personalities, what with Javier Baez being the favorite player of the kiddos, and Anthony Rizzo being, well, Rizzo. One unexpected turn of events as late, however, is the emergence of a new, fiery personality that has been on the warpath through Twitter since the end of 2019.

That personality is Yu Darvish. Yeah, you heard me right. The guy who barely was on the field in 2018 and looked like a bust of a deal is now back to form as a player and just hitting his prime as a ruthless social media assassin.

In a moderate offseason where nothing of real note has happened on the North Side, the best headlines have been the ones marking yet another unfortunate soul getting destroyed by the Japanese righty. Darvish has provided nothing but pure comedy, and I am all for it.

More importantly, he gives us a glimpse at what a good baseball personality can be when the jerseys are off and the bats are stored away. He roasts people, he cracks jokes, and he’s not afraid to address the hot-button issues in the baseball world. Let’s take a look at some of the destruction he has wrought thus far.

Yu Darvish, Chicago Cubs
Yu Darvish, Chicago Cubs /

Chicago Cubs: Piping hot Twitter roasts have been Darvish’s specialty

In reality, it all began with one simple Twitter post that translated to “Eat fried chicken until death.” This was Darvish’s ruthless response to a troll named fried chicken that had been hounding him. The Chicago Cubs pitcher explained this for Cubs Insider writer Corey Freedman, a shirt was made to commemorate the roast, and with that, we were off to the races.

Darvish had difficulty finding himself after his devastating 2017 performance against the Astros (which we now know likely wasn’t his fault) both on and off the mound. This quote, however, was the moment everyone began to take notice of his Twitter genius in Chicago.

The next moment Darvish would really go off on social media came during the 2019 World Series when he finally got revenge on Astros ace Justin Verlander after over 500 days of waiting. The result was a perfectly executed assassination after Verlander accidentally threw a baseball at his own leg in an attempt to field it.

He would even engage in a little friendly fire, aiming a friendly jab at teammates Jon Lester and the aforementioned Rizzo. In what could only be described as a double kill, Darvish took down both of his teammates in hilarious fashion after the Chicago Cubs Twitter account posted a clip of Rizzo dashing to first base to cover for Lester.

In a way, Darvish is essentially becoming the Wendy’s of the Chicago Cubs, roasting friend and foe alike in a total war over Twitter. It has made him one of the most exciting players to keep tabs on over the offseason, adding some light to this bleak, dark winter. Most recently, though, he has directed his efforts at attacking the Astros in their sign-stealing scandal.

Yu Darvish, Chicago Cubs
Yu Darvish, Chicago Cubs /

Chicago Cubs: Darvish, like many others, has turned his attention to the Astros sign-stealing scandal.

Houston’s sign-stealing scandal has been stealing headlines for a while now and rightfully so. It feels like the first time the modern MLB stars have genuinely had a voice-over social media. Among the voices crying out for justice is that of Darvish, who went as far as calling for their title to be stripped.

Yet, even in the rage felt by everyone around the sport, Darvish still found a way to troll an Astros fan in a way that was all too perfect. In their attempt to flex the Astros still existent title, the fan-made one crucial mistake: messing with Yu Darvish.

This wasn’t the only time Darvish got involved in criticizing the whole sign-stealing scandal. Back in November of 2019, he got in a notable Twitter spat with Brewers superstar Christian Yelich over Darvish insinuating that Yelich and the Brewers utilized illegal sign stealing. Even in this case, Darvish still made light of the whole situation.

It’s this kind of behavior that makes Darvish such a good sports personality for Chicago. His merciless Twitter roasts show a side of him that few see on the field and appeals to this modern era where social media is king. An extensive complaint of modern MLB stars is their lack of social media usage, but Darvish thus far has been a shining example of how to build an image off of the field.

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For a pitcher that many initially criticized as weak-minded early in his Chicago Cubs tenure, Darvish has been one of the funniest and fiercest players on the team. He’s willing to speak his mind without fear of backlash and has no problem dishing out some good-natured jabs. His is the kind of personality that can sell jerseys and draw attention to the game of baseball, something that should be valued in this day and age.

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