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Saturday, June 13, 2009

Japan’s knuckleball girl takes loss

Japan’s first female professional baseball player struggled with her control and took her first loss.

Eri Yoshida, a 17-year-old who throws a sidearm knuckleball, took the mound in the ninth inning with the score tied 2-2.

With two outs and a runner on third base, Yoshida threw a wild pitch allowing the winning run to score Friday as the Akashi Red Soldiers won 3-2 against the Kobe Cruise 9.

Yoshida also hit a batter with a pitch and threw wildly to first base trying to hold a runner before recording the final out with a strikeout.
...

The 5-feet, 114-pound Yoshida has appeared in only three of the Cruise 9’s 22 games this season.

You know SOMEBODY (I’m not going to say who) has an opinion on this.

Gamingboy Posted: June 13, 2009 at 11:07 PM | 9 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: international, japan

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1. Digit Posted: June 13, 2009 at 11:19 PM (#3218276)

WHY in the name of the gods would you bring in a knuckleballer with a runner on third?

2. SoSHially Unacceptable Posted: June 13, 2009 at 11:23 PM (#3218283)

WHY in the name of the gods would you bring in a knuckleballer with a runner on third?

That was her runner.

3. Darren

Posted: June 14, 2009 at 01:50 AM (#3218430)

Yoshida also hit a batter with a pitch and threw wildly to first base trying to hold a runner before recording the final out with a strikeout.

Probably because of her weak girl arms. (/Neyer)

4. AROM Posted: June 14, 2009 at 02:47 AM (#3218562)

Is she lefthanded? She could be the ultimate trick pitcher.

Knuckleballers are trick pitchers. check
Sidearmers are trick pitchers. check
Many Japanese pitchers have deceptive, non-conventional deliveries. Being Japanese is another plus for the ultimate trick pitcher.
Being female is another.

5. Raskolnikov Posted: June 14, 2009 at 02:50 AM (#3218568)

Not only that, she could hide a nail-filer in her .. um .. belt buckle. Who would dare check there?

6. twon8 Posted: June 14, 2009 at 12:52 PM (#3218732)

She gets into more games that brian stokes

7. Eraser-X is emphatically dominating teh site!!! Posted: June 14, 2009 at 01:03 PM (#3218737)

That was her runner.

I don't think so, I think the inning went like this:

Runner on third, two out.
Yoshida relieves.
Wild Pitch, runner scores.
Yoshida hits batter at the plate.
Yoshida throws wildly to first, runner on second two out.
Yoshida Ks the batter at the plate.
Kobe doesn't score in the bottom half-->Loss.

The game was played in Kobe, not Akashi (a small industrial town to the West of Kobe (I used to live there--famous for salted Takoyaki).

8. GotowarMissAgnes Posted: June 14, 2009 at 01:27 PM (#3218740)

But, if it wasn't her runner, how did she get the loss, then?

9. SuperGrover Posted: June 15, 2009 at 04:46 PM (#3219986)

They already tried this on Baseball Stars. The Lovely Ladies were awful, but were a very profitable franchise with a heckuva following.

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Saturday, June 13, 2009

Japan’s knuckleball girl takes loss

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