Before the Texas Rangers committed more than $107 million to get Yu Darvish, Japan's best pitcher, they spent more than two years watching and getting to know him.
"It wasn't just sitting behind the plate with a radar gun," general manager Jon Daniels of the Rangers said.
Sure, that was part of the process. But Rangers' scouts in the Pacific Rim who watched just about every one of Darvish's starts in recent seasons and other team officials also spent time developing a personal relationship with the pitcher and his family.
"They've probably seen about 50 games the last two years, they were very thorough in how they evaluated," said Don Nomura, one of Darvish's agents. "We knew they were very interested in Yu, and I'm glad it was the Texas Rangers that won the bid."
That familiarity should help Darvish, 25, with the cultural transition he will face in the United States and the major leagues.
Arn Tellem, the other agent, said all the effort by the Rangers to build a personal connection was "very significant" to Darvish, who agreed this week to a $56 million, six-year contract with Texas, the two-time defending American League champion.
The deal was finished at the end of a 30-day exclusive negotiating window for Texas that began when its record $51,703,411 posting bid was accepted last month by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, Darvish's team in Japan's Pacific League.
Although negotiations went to the final minutes before a deadline when Darvish would have stayed in Japan without a deal, Daniels said talks were never contentious.
"It wasn't like the clock started on Day 1 and we were a brand-new entity. They were open with us and talked with us and gave us access," Daniels said.
Darvish, whose only previous visit to Texas was two weeks ago, was formally introduced by his new team Friday and given his No. 11 jersey. He will make $5.5 million this year, $9.5 million in 2013, $10 million in each of the next three years and $11 million in 2017.
The 2017 season would become a player option, with no buyout, if during the first five years Darvish either wins a Cy Young Award and finishes second through fourth.
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