Picture being a kid… growing up watching baseball and playing little league, having dreams of one day pitching in the big leagues.  Very few people get to say that they fulfill this dream.  Let me introduce you to a very special ball player, who did just that.

Meet 17 year old Eri Yoshida, Japan’s first female professional baseball player to play in a men’s league.   Growing up in Yokahoma,  Eri began playing “rubber ball baseball” in second grade. She continued playing into junior high, where she played at first base. Eri started playing hardball in high school where she got so good, pro scouts took notice.  After working hard and perfecting her sidearm knuckleball delivery, The “Kobe 9 Cruise” of the Kansai Independent League drafted Eri as the 7th round draft pick (out of 27 total players).

In March of this year, Eri made her pro baseball debut at the Kyosera Dome in Osaka, where she was brought in during the ninth. She walked her first batter, then struck out the next she faced.  Not a bad way to open up a pro ball career.

Ed Demling (pictured above with Eri) met up with Joe Castiglione in Japan during the ‘08 Red Sox season opening series vs. the A’s.  Born in Boston and growing up in Easton, MA, he has been working as a translator/interpreter in Japan for over 10 years.  He is working on Eri’s first trip to Fenway Park, where Eri hopes to meet her inspiration, Tim Wakefield.  In the meantime, Ed caught up with Eri at a recent Kobe 9 Cruise game at Skymark Stadium…below is the audio of that interview (translated by Ed Demling, English voice of Eri provided by Rei Hashimoto).

Eri “Knuckleball Princess” Yoshida Interview

I’m sure that Eri has already inspired many in Japan to go after their dreams.  Eri is a star in Japan… and I hope that Red Sox Nation is now aware of the Knuckleball Princess.  Keep it up, Eri!