16-year-old Eri Yoshida has been drafted by the Kobe 9 Cruise, becoming the first woman in Japan to play professional baseball alongside men.
Yoshida, a high school student at Kawasaki Kita High School in Kanagawa Prefecture, says she “always dreamed of becoming a professional.”
Standing 5-feet tall and weighing 114 pounds, Yoshida is known for her side-arm knuckleball. She says her goal is to follow in the footsteps of knuckleballer Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox.
At tryouts earlier this month, the right-hander held male batters hitless for one inning, helping her become one of 33 players picked in the draft.