Baseball is usually considered a game for guys. Most girls who want to play baseball join softball leagues—but not Eri Yoshida of Japan. She is the first young woman to play professional baseball. She debuted in a game on March 27.

Many people wondered why the 17-year-old was drafted by a professional team in her country. (The Japanese love baseball as much as Americans do.) Critics said it was for publicity, but her talent speaks for itself. In the first game of the season, she proved herself as a pitcher for her team, Kobe 9 Cruise. She entered the game in the ninth inning, walked one batter, and struck out another. Her team won 5–0, defeating the Osaka Gold Villicanes. (Those teams are equivalent to minor league teams in the United States. There are no female professional baseball players on U.S. teams.)

Known for Her Knuckleball

Yoshida is known for her sidearm knuckleball throw. A knuckleball is a slow pitch that moves erratically toward home plate. The pitcher has to hold the ball between the thumb and the knuckles of the first joints of the first two or three fingers. The knuckleball is one of the hardest pitches to throw. It is also difficult to hit, because the batter cannot predict exactly where the ball will go.

Yoshida tries to pitch like her hero, Boston Red Sox player Tim Wakefield. He is also known for his knuckleball. Her pitch is a major reason why she was drafted into the league. Her manager, Yoshihiro Nakata, said that her sidearm knuckleball could be an effective weapon

Girls Can Play

Soon Yoshida may not be the only young woman playing in a professional league. All over the world, baseball is becoming more and more popular among girls. Women’s baseball might even be included in the 2016 Olympic Games.

Harvey Schiller, president of the International Baseball Federation, estimates that worldwide, about 300,000 to 500,000 women and girls play baseball. That could give a positive new meaning to the old insult "you throw like a girl."

Yoshida, who is 5 feet tall and 114 pounds, started playing baseball when she was in second grade. "I'm really happy I stuck with baseball," she said at a news conference. "I want to play against men."

So what must it have been like for Yoshida to play baseball professionally for the first time? She said, "I wasn't thinking about anything other than just going out there and giving it my all."

Comparing Baseball and Softball

	Baseball	Softball
Players	male	female or male
Ball	9 inches around	11 or 12 inches around, less dense than a baseball
Pitching distance	60 feet, 6 inches	varies, 40–46 feet
Baseline distance	90 feet	60 feet
Pitching	overhand	underhand
Innings	9	7

Critical Thinking:

• Do you think women should play professional baseball with men? Why or why not?
• How might girls feel about Yoshida playing professional baseball?
• How might boys feel about it?

Links:

Watch a video of Yoshida pitching.