bigruss Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Okay, so its not a really high level league, but found it to be pretty cool that this girl can pitch. Good luck to her, and that must be a crazy knuckler. TOKYO (AFP) – A 16-year-old schoolgirl with a mean knuckleball has been selected as the first woman ever to play alongside the men in Japanese professional baseball. Eri Yoshida was drafted for a new independent league that will launch in April, drawing attention for a side-armed knuckler that her future manager Yoshihiro Nakata said was a marvel. "I never dreamed of getting drafted," Yoshida told reporters Monday, a day after she was selected to play for the Kobe 9 Cruise. "I have only just been picked by the team and have not achieved anything," she said. "I want to play as a pro eventually in a higher league." Yoshida, 155 centimetres (five feet) tall and weighing 52 kilograms (114 pounds), says she wants to follow in the footsteps of the great Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. A female professional baseball federation existed for a few years in the 1950s, but Yoshida will become Japan's first-ever woman to play alongside professional male players. -Yahoo Linky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rangercal Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 says she wants to follow in the footsteps of the great Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigruss Posted November 17, 2008 Author Share Posted November 17, 2008 QUOTE (rangercal @ Nov 17, 2008 -> 04:08 AM) Well he is getting up there in age, and she's only 16, maybe the Red Sox can outbid everyone else for her? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearSox Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 I'm pretty sure the Dodgers drafted a girl a few picks before they drafted Piazza. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 QUOTE (BearSox @ Nov 17, 2008 -> 07:27 AM) I'm pretty sure the Dodgers drafted a girl a few picks before they drafted Piazza. Carrie Schueler was drafted ahead of Placido Polanco at one time. I think the importance of this is not that it's a female, but it's the club drafting a female with intentions to have her actually play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Pratt Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 QUOTE (rangercal @ Nov 17, 2008 -> 03:08 AM) Wakefield is a great pitcher who has had a great career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rangercal Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 QUOTE (Gregory Pratt @ Nov 17, 2008 -> 11:09 PM) Wakefield is a great pitcher who has had a great career. If you define "great" as "gimmick" and/or "mediocre", then I will agree with you. He lasted a long time, that's all I will give him. He was way too inconsistent and unreliable at times to be considered great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 QUOTE (rangercal @ Nov 17, 2008 -> 10:19 PM) If you define "great" as "gimmick" and/or "mediocre", then I will agree with you. He lasted a long time, that's all I will give him. He was way too inconsistent and unreliable at times to be considered great. He's been league average or better in 8 straight seasons and has a career ERA+ of 108. I won't go as far as saying he's a great pitcher, but he's been a good pitcher who is durable as hell who has had a great career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rangercal Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 18, 2008 -> 01:29 AM) He's been league average or better in 8 straight seasons and has a career ERA+ of 108. I won't go as far as saying he's a great pitcher, but he's been a good pitcher who is durable as hell who has had a great career. I could agree with good. But, borderline good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Pratt Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 17, 2008 -> 11:29 PM) He's been league average or better in 8 straight seasons and has a career ERA+ of 108. I won't go as far as saying he's a great pitcher, but he's been a good pitcher who is durable as hell who has had a great career. Great career IMO makes him a great pitcher. Not a Hall of Famer, or one of the very best of his era, but he's earned the right to be called a great pitcher. At the very least, he's earned the right to not be laughed at on a message board because someone wants to be like him. He's had three 160 ERA+ seasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 QUOTE (Gregory Pratt @ Nov 18, 2008 -> 12:13 AM) Great career IMO makes him a great pitcher. Not a Hall of Famer, or one of the very best of his era, but he's earned the right to be called a great pitcher. At the very least, he's earned the right to not be laughed at on a message board because someone wants to be like him. He's had three 160 ERA+ seasons. We're arguing semantics, but we're on the same page regarding Wake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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