SURPRISE, Ariz. — Yu Darvish will throw with the other pitchers in the Texas Rangers' camp Thursday as they have their first full workout for pitchers and catchers.
All pitchers except Colby Lewis and Scott Feldman are expected to throw five minutes in the bullpen and five minutes of live batting practice Thursday. Lewis and Feldman had their bullpen sessions Wednesday to keep them on target to pitch in the Rangers' first spring game March 4.
Darvish played catch with left-hander Derek Holland on Wednesday with around 100 members of the Japanese media watching his every move. Darvish also had some family support, as his father, Farsad, and his mother, Ikuyo, watched him workout.
They will be here to help Darvish get adjusted before they head back to Japan. Darvish's father wasn't surprised by the media turnout because he said it's been like that since Yu Darvish was in high school. He said it wasn't uncommon for Yu Darvish to pitch in 40,000-seat stadiums as a high schooler.
As for the added security measures and new media procedures in place for the Rangers this spring, Farsad said he's not so sure his son was the reason.
"The team is coming off back-to-back trips to the World Series," he said. "Maybe Yu is just an extra reason, and he will put them over the top."
Darvish will talk to the media for the first time this spring Thursday.
