| Eri Yoshida | |
|---|---|
| Japan Islanders | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:January 17, 1992 Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right |
Eri Yoshida (吉田えり,Yoshida Eri,born January 17,1992) is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Japan Islanders of the Empire Professional Baseball League. She plays as a sidearm knuckleball pitcher. In 2008,at the age of 16,she became the first woman drafted by a Japanese men's professional baseball team. [1]
Yoshida was born in Yokohama,where she taught herself how to throw the knuckleball at the age of 14 after watching Major League Baseball pitcher Tim Wakefield on television. [2] [3] She stands 1.55 metres (5 ft 1 in) tall, [4] and her pitches have been clocked at 101 kilometres per hour (63 mph),while her knuckleball pitch velocity measures around 50 mph. [5] As a high school sophomore at Kawasaki-kita Senior High School in Kawasaki,she threw the pitch well enough to earn a place on the school's baseball team. [2] Her success caused a sensation in the national media,who dubbed her the Knuckle Princess. [2] In 2008,she signed a contract to play for the Kobe 9 Cruise of the Kansai Independent Baseball League. [1] [3]
Yoshida made her professional baseball debut at the Osaka Dome in the opening game of the Kansai Independent Baseball League on March 26,2009,in front of 11,592 fans. She faced two batters,walking the first and striking out the second in a 5–0 win over the Osaka Gold Villicanes . [6] She appeared in 11 games for the Kobe 9 Cruise and moved on after the season to focus on advancing up the pro ranks. She appeared in a one-inning battle against the top hitters of the Hiroshima Carp on November 24,2009. [7]
On December 15,2009,the Arizona Winter League announced that they had reached an agreement to allow Yoshida to play in their 35-game season. [5] The league served to showcase players who had been overlooked by major league teams in the draft by giving them a chance to play in front of professional scouts. [5] On February 12,2010,Yoshida got her first win in Arizona Winter League play,throwing four shut-out innings in a 5–0 win for her team,the Yuma Scorpions,versus Team Canada of the Arizona Winter League. [8]
On February 28,2010,she was offered a contract to play in the Golden Baseball League,the major independent minor league in western North America,by the Chico Outlaws. [4] The Outlaws were managed by former major league all-star Garry Templeton and the team president and general manager was former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mike Marshall. On March 2,2010,she trained with Tim Wakefield at the Boston Red Sox minor league training facility. [9]
On April 8,2010,she signed the contract with the Chico Outlaws and became the first female professional baseball player in the U.S. since the retirement of Ila Borders 10 years previously,and the first ever to play professionally in two countries. [10] Her debut playing for the Chico Outlaws was on May 29,2010. [11] On Tuesday,July 27,2010,Yoshida made her first road start against the Victoria Seals of the independent Golden Baseball League in Victoria,British Columbia,making her the first woman in baseball history to pitch professionally in three different countries. [12] [13]
Yoshida was honoured with a spot on Venus Zine's "25 under 25" list of remarkable women for 2009. [14] On August 21,2010,she was the feature story on FOX Sports' This Week In Baseball ,where she was shown meeting her idol,Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield.
Yoshida ended the 2010 season with an 0–4 record,but earned praise for her work ethic from team-mates and her manager,Garry Templeton, [4] who noted that any 18-year-old would struggle in the Golden Baseball League. [15]
Yoshida played in the Arizona Winter League,an instructional league,in February 2011 but chose to start the 2011 season with an amateur team from Japan that would be playing in Southern California. She signed a contract with the Chico Outlaws of the professional North American Baseball League in July and pitched a no-decision as her team beat the Edmonton Capitals. She was traded later that week to Maui,rejoining her manager from last year,Garry Templeton,and started on August 9,pitching 5 innings of one-hit ball,and picked up her first professional win in the U.S. with Maui defeating Edmonton 4–1.
In 2012,she returned to Japan to play for the Hyogo Blue Sandars of the Kansai Independent Baseball League. [16] [17] On May 3,2012,Yoshida made her first start of the year for Hyogo. She hurled five innings,giving up just one run,walking 1 while striking out 2. She earned the win,making her the first woman to win a game in the Kansai Independent League. [18]
In June 2012,Yoshida returned to pitch for Na Koa Ikaika Maui of the North American Baseball League. In her first start on June 9,2012,she earned the win in a 10–2 victory over the Hawaii Stars. She hurled 7-2/3 innings,giving up only four hits and two runs,as well as walking one batter and striking out another. [19] Yoshida won her next two starts to begin the year with a 3–0 record,but then experienced problems controlling her pitches and lost five games in a row. [20] [21] She ended the season with a record of 4 wins and 6 losses with a 5.56 earned run average. [4]
Yoshida joined the Ishikawa Million Stars in 2013. [22]
Yoshida joined the Tochigi Golden Braves of the Baseball Challenge League in 2017. On October 27,2017,she became a free agent. [23]
In part due to injuries,in 2017 Yoshida accepted a coaching position with the women's baseball team of the Agekke Corporation. In 2023,she announced plans to return to pitching,in the Empire Professional Baseball League. [24]

James Hoyt Wilhelm,nicknamed "Old Sarge",was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants,St. Louis Cardinals,Cleveland Indians,Baltimore Orioles,Chicago White Sox,California Angels,Atlanta Braves,Chicago Cubs,and Los Angeles Dodgers between 1952 and 1972. Wilhelm was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.

A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight,causing an erratic,unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This change adds a deflecting force to the baseball,making it difficult for batters to hit but also difficult for pitchers to control and catchers to catch;umpires are challenged as well,as the ball's irregular motion through the air makes it harder to call balls and strikes. A pitcher who throws knuckleballs is known as a knuckleballer.
Philip Henry Niekro,nicknamed "Knucksie",was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves,Cleveland Indians,New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. Niekro is generally regarded as the greatest knuckleball pitcher of all time.
Timothy Stephen Wakefield was an American professional baseball knuckleball pitcher. Wakefield began his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Pittsburgh Pirates,but is most remembered for his 17-year tenure with the Boston Red Sox,from 1995 until his retirement in 2012 as the longest-serving player on the team,earning a total of $55 million. When he retired at age 45 after 19 seasons in MLB,Wakefield was the oldest active player in the major leagues.
Ila Jane Borders is an American former left-handed pitcher in college and independent professional baseball player. As a female pitcher in men's leagues,Borders achieved numerous baseball milestones at the college and professional levels,including being the first female pitcher to start and win a men's professional baseball game. In four seasons from 1997 to 2000,she appeared in 52 games and posted a record of 2–4 and 6.75 earned run average while recording 36 strikeouts.
The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon,California,with teams located in the western United States,western Canada and northwest Mexico.

Charles Oliver Hough is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) knuckleball pitcher and coach who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers,Texas Rangers,Chicago White Sox,and Florida Marlins from 1970 to 1994.
The Chico Outlaws were a professional baseball team based in Chico,California,in the United States. The Outlaws were a member of the Northern Division of the independent North American League,which is not affiliated with either Major League Baseball or Minor League Baseball. From the 2005 season to the 2011 season,the Outlaws played their home games at Nettleton Stadium,on the campus of Chico State University. The team officially folded on February 29,2012,and some of its remnants have gone to the NAL's newest team,the San Rafael Pacifics.
The Long Beach Armada were an independent professional baseball team based in Long Beach,California,in the United States. The Armada was a member of the North Division of the now-defunct Golden Baseball League (GBL),which was not affiliated with either Major League Baseball or Minor League Baseball. The Armada played its home games at Blair Field.

Lance William Niekro is an American baseball coach and former first baseman,who is the current head baseball coach of the Florida Southern Moccasins. He played college baseball at Florida Southern for coach Chuck Anderson from 1999 to 2000 and then played four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2003 to 2007. After his playing career concluded,he served as an assistant coach at Florida Southern and then was elevated to the head coach position on May 9,2012. He is the son of MLB pitcher Joe Niekro and nephew of MLB pitcher Phil Niekro.
Robert Allen Dickey is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers,Seattle Mariners,Minnesota Twins,New York Mets,Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves.
Charles Wallis Haeger was an American professional baseball player. He was one of the few knuckleball pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB) during his career. He played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox,San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot at the Grand Canyon on October 3,2020,shortly after the suspected murder of his ex-girlfriend.
Women have a long history in American baseball and many women's teams have existed over the years. Baseball was played at women's colleges in New York and New England as early as the mid-nineteenth century;teams were formed at Vassar College,Smith College,Wellesley College,and Mount Holyoke College. An African American women's team,the Philadelphia Dolly Vardens,was formed in 1867.
The Ishikawa Million Stars are a semi-professional baseball team in the Baseball Challenge League of Japan. The team was established in 2007. Their home is Ishikawa Prefecture. Former Major League Baseball star Julio Franco was the team's player-manager. The team is also notable for having female knuckleball pitcher Eri Yoshida on their roster.
The Kansai Independent Baseball League was a professional baseball league in Japan which operated from 2009–2013. The league made history on March 26,2009,when pitcher Eri Yoshida made her debut as the first female in an otherwise all-male league.
Na Koa Ikaika Maui were an independent professional baseball team based out of Wailuku,Maui,Hawaii and 2013 champions of the Pacific Association. They played their home games at Maehara Stadium in Wailuku on the island of Maui. Over four seasons,they also played the Golden Baseball League and North American League.
Frank John Viola III is an American professional baseball pitcher who is retired. He played for the Chicago White Sox Organization twice and also played for the Independent League St. Paul Saints (2010),and in the Toronto Blue Jays organization (2014). Viola is the son of major league pitcher and 1988 Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola and the brother of 2008 and 2011 NCAA Champion platform diver and 2012 Olympian,Brittany Viola.
Claire Eccles is a Canadian baseball player. She is a left-handed pitcher who throws three pitches,including a knuckleball. She has been a member of the women's national baseball team of Canada,and has competed in the 2014 and 2016 Women's Baseball World Cups as well as the 2015 Pan American Games. In 2017,she joined the Victoria HarbourCats of the West Coast League and became the first woman to play in that league. She was also a member of the softball team at the University of British Columbia.
Mickey Scott Jannis is an American professional baseball knuckleball pitcher for the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 44th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft.