Yu Darvish Recruited Yuki Matsui to Padres

During his introductory video press conference call, new San Diego Padres reliever Yuki Matsui revealed that starter Yu Darvish helped recruit him to the team. It was probably a cool moment for Matsui to have someone like Darvish trying to bring him over.

“Yu mentioned the city of San Diego is beautiful,” Matsui said. “The weather is top notch … and he did also mention … that the stadium is filled every night, and it’s just super awesome to be playing in a full stadium."

Per Yuki Matsui via The San Diego Union-Tribune

The Padres' fanbase has been one of the better in the last few years, packing Petco Park nightly. They are always ready to cheer on the Friars, which makes for a great stadium atmosphere.

“That’s something that’s very motivating,” Matsui said.

Per Yuki Matsui via The San Diego Union-Tribune

Matsui will be given opportunities to work in the late innings, which is something he has done for the majority of his career. Matsui worked very hard to get to this point, and he wants to prove that he belongs in the major leagues.

“It wasn’t really much of a ‘wait’ for me, like struggling, (waiting) to come here,” Matsui said. “… I really had to get ready and hone my craft to be a player to be wanted by these big-league teams. I was working on my craft, building my body and doing all that I can so I can make it up here.”

Per Yuki Matsui via The San Diego Union-Tribune

The Padres are very excited about their new reliever, and the hope is he can catch onto the game in the United States quickly. His stuff should translate well, and assuming it does, the Padres will have gotten a steal with this signing.