Japanese pro team signs 16-year-old female pitcher

November 17, 2008 – The Japanese are always on the cutting edge and this time they’re making headlines by signing the first woman to play pro ball in Japan.

Sixteen year old high school student Eri Yoshida was drafted by the Kobe 9 Cruise, a pro team in the Kansai Independent League that will launch in April.

With a side-armed knuckleball in her arsenal, Yoshida took part in a tryout held earlier this month and passed with flying colors. She threw a hitless inning against male batters during a tryout this month and was among 33 players picked in the draft.

“I always dreamed of becoming a professional,” Yoshida told a news conference Monday. “I have only just been picked by the team and haven’t achieved anything yet.”

At five feet, 114 pounds, Yoshida says her inspiration is fellow knuckleballer Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox.

A female professional baseball federation existed for a few years in the 1950s, but Yoshida will become Japan’s first-ever woman to play alongside professional male players.

No doubt we’ll be hearing much more about this young phenom in the future.

Mao Asada wins gold at Four Continents Championship

Feb. 16, 2008 – The 2008 Four Continents Championships figure skating competition in Goyang City, South Korea concluded Saturday and Mao Asada of Japan won both the short and long programs for the gold medal with 193.25 points.

Asada hit a beautiful triple Axel in the first seconds of her program to “Fantaisie Impromptu” by Frederic Chopin. Once she had that key element under her belt, the rest went smoothly. She landed five more triples, and only the triple toe in a combination with a triple flip was downgraded.

Canadian Joannie Rochette climbed from third spot after the short program with the second-best long program to take the silver with a personal-best score of 179.54. World champion Miki Ando of Japan, struggled early in her program and dropped to third at 177.66.

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