Knuckleball princess aims high
Eri Yoshida joins training league in hopes of making it big
Eri Yoshida was the talk of the town last summer in Chico—heck, as the first female to pitch in a men’s pro league in at least a decade, she was the talk of the baseball-loving world. As the buzz has it, she’s currently training in the Arizona Winter League, with hopes of making it to the major leagues.
Yoshida (pictured), the teenage Japanese knuckleball-pitching sensation, had quite a year as an Outlaw. Now, in her second season in the AWL, she’s pitching for the Yuma Scorpions and, according to a press release, is being scouted by the likes of the Red Sox, Phillies and Diamondbacks.
The AWL is a training league that attracts free agents hoping to get pro contracts. Last year 60 players got signed, five of them to major-league teams.