A five-foot, 114-pound teenager made history in Japan Friday, becoming the first ever female professional baseball player in the country. Eri Yoshida, a 17-year-old Kobe 9 knuckleballer, made her debut during the team's season opener against the Osaka Gold Villicanes Friday in the spankin' new, four-league Kansai Independent League. She walked the first batter on four pitches to lead off the inning...
Eri Yoshida made her debut for Kobe 9 Cruise on Friday. Not only did she become the first professional female baseball player in Japan, she’s also only 17 years old. After walking the first batter she faced, she struck out the second batter. Although Kobe 9 Cruise went on to win the game 5-0, almost all [...]
MLB : Japanese schoolgirl Eri Yoshida makes pro baseball debut — OSAKA, Japan — Japan's first female professional baseball player made her debut Friday, striking out one batter in the ninth inning. — Eri Yoshida, a 17-year-old who throws a sidearm knuckleball, took the mound during Kobe 9 …
Remember Eri Yoshida? In November, the then-16-year-old knuckleball pitcher was drafted by (and later signed with) the Kobe 9 Cruise, one of four teams in Japan's newly formed Kansai Independent League. Today, at 17, she became Japan's first female professional pitcher . In front of a Opening Day crowd of 11,592 at the Osaka Dome, Yoshida faced two batters in the ninth inning. She walked the first...
Japan's first female professional baseball player made her debut Friday, striking out one batter in the ninth inning of her team's first game of the season. Eri Yoshida, a 17-year-old who throws a sidearm knuckleball, took the mound in the ninth inning of Kobe 9 Cruise's 5-0 win over the Osaka Gold Villicanes in the newly-formed Kansai Independent League.
ESPN.com : Teen signs as Japan's first female pro ballplayer — TOKYO — A 16-year-old Japanese girl signed with a regional baseball team Tuesday, becoming the country's first female professional baseball player. — Eri Yoshida, a knuckleball pitcher, will play for the Kobe 9 Cruise in a new independent league starting in April 2009.
A 16-year-old Japanese girl signed with a regional baseball team Tuesday, becoming the country's first female professional baseball player. Eri Yoshida, a knuckleball pitcher, will play for the Kobe 9 Cruise in a new independent league starting in April 2009. The team selected her last month along with 31 male players in the league draft. "I still don't feel like I've really become a pro baseball...
You go, girl: Eri Yoshida, a 16-year-old girl with a mean, hard-to-hit, rare knuckleball has become the first female Japanese professional baseball player. Eri Yoshida was inspired to learn how to throw the knuckler after seeing a video of Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield. …Yoshida said she wants to emulate Wakefield, who has built a successful major league career throwing a knuckleball,...
Jerry Crasnick / ESPN : Prominent hitters who may swing it in '09 or call it a career … The Hot Stove season is off to a fine start for Ryan Dempster, Jeremy Affeldt and Eri Yoshida, the 16-year-old female knuckleballer who was drafted by a Japanese League club this week. And life is good if your name happens to be CC Sabathia …
An Osaka teenager just took the first step towards becoming the first female baseball player to play in an all-male league. Eri Yoshida is a pitcher known for her knuckleball. Apparently, she was inspired by a Boston Red Sox player,...
A team in an independent league in Japan has drafted a 16 year-old girl : A 16-year-old schoolgirl is making a unique pitch to become the first woman to play professional baseball in Japan. High school student Eri Yoshida was drafted by the Kobe 9 Cruise, a professional team in a new independent Japanese league that will start its first season in April. "I always dreamed of becoming a professional,"...
A 16 year old Japanese girl named Eri Yoshida has signed a professional baseball contract in Japan. Eri, who is just 5 feet tall and 114 lbs., throws a sidearm knuckleball and patterns herself after Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (who, however, throws overhand-a sidearm knuckleball might an entirely new thing.) Smart move, since Wakefield is still pitching at age 42, though his "fastball",...
A new Japanese independent team drafted a woman. Eri Yoshida is just 16 years old: "I always dreamed of becoming a professional," Yoshida, who is 5-feet tall and weighs 114 pounds, told a news conference Monday. "I have only just...
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