Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish creates a stir as he prepares to debut
John Blake, the head of communications for the Texas Rangers, worked for the Boston Red Sox when Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched his first spring training game for them in 2007.
Looking around the packed press box at Peoria Stadium on Wednesday, Blake said, “There’s more interest for this game than there was for Matsuzaka’s first game.”
Yu Darvish, the Rangers’ high-priced import from Japan, will make his Cactus League debut against the San Diego Padres at 1 p.m.
Three television stations will simultaneously broadcast the game live in Japan. ESPN will show the start of the game.
There are more than 100 reporters here.
Blake estimated the game is being covered by 15 to 18 Japanese newspapers.
“We didn’t have half of that for the World Series,” he said.
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