The knuckleball is one of those near-mystical wonders of baseball, that often seems to be near a dying art. But long-time master of it, Tim Wakefield, gave some tips to a teenage acolyte at Red Sox training camp yesterday.
A League Of Her Own: Teen Knuckleballer Gets Tips From Wakefield
↵Oh, said novice is Japanese. And female.
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↵18-year old Eri Yoshida caused something of a stir last season, when she became the first woman to play professional baseball in Japan, pitching for the Kobe 9 Cruise in independent ball last season. That earned her a ticket to the States, where she spent the winter in Arizona, with the Yuma Scorpions, and she has to decide whether to stay here in the US or return to Japan - teams in both countries have offered her contracts.
↵Said Wakefield, “I’m impressed. She spun a couple, but for the most part, it was very good. She was able to take the spin out of a lot of them and they had quite a lot of movement on them.” Yoshida seemed awestruck by the chance to meet her idol: “I never thought I could ever feel this happy... It really gave me some courage and the confidence I need to really get back to training hard.”
↵More power to her. Some day, a woman will end up pitching in the majors - I recall some convincing demonstrations of Jennie Finch going up against major-league hitters - and maybe it’ll be Yoshida.
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