Jeff Banister called his announcement Saturday morning the worst kept secret in baseball because all signs pointed to Yu Darvish being named the Texas Rangers’ starting pitcher on Opening Day.
The secret was made public by Banister during his daily morning briefing with the media, and Darvish will be on the mound for a Rangers lid-lifter for the first time since coming from Japan for the 2012 season.
There was never much mystery who would start April 3 against the Cleveland Indians, and Darvish’s selection is hardly a shock. If it wasn’t going to be him, it was going to be left-hander Cole Hamels for the second consecutive season.