17-Year-Old Girl Makes Japan Pro Baseball Debut

Back in November, we brought you the news that a professional baseball team in Japan had signed a 16-year-old pitcher. Which may not sound like much…until you learn it was a girl. Well, now she’s made her pro debut.

Eri Yoshida

Eri Yoshida faced two batters and struck out one of them in her debut with the Kobe 9 Cruise of the new Kansai Independent League. She entered in the ninth inning of her teams 5-0 win over Osaka in front of a crowd of more than 11,000 at the Osaka Dome. Yoshida, a five-footer who relies on her knuckleball, walked the first batter she faced but then settled in.

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