Former Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish took out an ad thanking fans and defending his approach as a pitcher in Thursday’s Dallas Morning News.
The mix of gratitude and defensiveness was printed in full color on page 10C of the newspaper’s sports section.
Darvish was traded in the final moments of the trade deadline on Monday to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"Thank you very much for the past 5.5 years since 2012.
Coming from Japan, I could not have adjusted to the new environment if it weren't for all the courteous fans, teammates, team staff and all affiliates who supported me. It is my biggest regret that I gave up 10 runs on my last outing as a Ranger.
There were a small number of voices that said, 'Darvish only cares about strikeouts.' Although I may have had strikeouts in my mind, fans, team, teammates and team staff were always my top priority.
Thank you very much for everything!
Please take care!
Yu Darvish"