Darvish, the only member of the Japan National Team to win the WBC = World Baseball Classic in baseball and the only one to win the WBC title in 1, was praised by his teammate at the time, Ichiro, for his words and actions that strengthened the team's sense of unity in this tournament. When Darvish heard this, he smiled, saying, "I don't think Ichiro will praise me anymore, so I'm really honored and it gave me confidence."
Darvish, the oldest pitcher on the team at 36 years old, said before the tournament, "I want to tell everyone that we don't have to worry about it," and he was the only Japan player from the big leagues to participate in a training camp in Miyazaki last month and go out to dinner with his teammates to build harmony as a leader.
Speaking about his role, Darvish said, "I knew what was expected of me, so I think I did it right. When Ichiro participated in the 2009 tournament, he was about the same age as he is now, and while he had to deal with his team, he also spent time with the Japan national team. I think it was a different approach from Ichiro's, but the positions we were in were very similar, so I thought, 'Ichiro-san must have had a hard time.'"