ERI YOSHIDA

CHICAGO, IL – A Japanese female athlete is making headlines as she’s shown that she can hang with the big boys!
Eri Yoshida first made headlines by being the first female to play in the Japanese men’s baseball league. Well it seems like the men couldn’t hang and now she’s becoming the first female professional baseball player to play in North America for over a decade. The 18 year-old, who’s known for her knuckleball, will be playing in the Golden Baseball League for the Chico Outlaws.
Yoshida isn’t exactly an intimidating force as she measures a mere 155cm. Also, her pitches don’t necessarily reach pro-baseball speed clocking in at an average of 80kph (50 mph). However, her knuckleballs aren’t so much a matter of speed but rather a matter of unpredictability and she has a sweet knuckleball.
Minor league players are due to get a taste of that knuckleball in spring training in May. In the meantime, she has been spending time learning from one of the best knuckleballers out there, Tim Wakefield. She has also competed and won games in the independent Arizona Winter League.
“I am grateful for this opportunity to pitch for the Chico Outlaws,” Yoshida told the AP. “This is a dream come true for me and I hope I can contribute to the team and help win and also to continue to improve as a pro baseball player.”