Masataka Yoshida

The native form of this personal name is Yoshida Masataka. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Masataka Yoshida
Yoshida with the Orix Buffaloes in 2016
Boston Red Sox – No. 7
Designated hitter / Outfielder
Born: (1993-07-15) July 15, 1993 (age 31)
Fukui, Japan
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Professional debut
NPB: March 25, 2016, for the Orix Buffaloes
MLB: March 30, 2023, for the Boston Red Sox
NPB statistics
Batting average.327
Home runs133
Runs batted in467
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.285
Home runs25
Runs batted in128
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards
NPB
International
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Japan
Summer Olympics
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Team
World Baseball Classic
Gold medal – first place 2023 Miami Team
WBSC Premier12
Gold medal – first place 2019 Tokyo Team

Masataka Yoshida (吉田 正尚 Yoshida Masataka, born July 15, 1993) is a Japanese professional baseball designated hitter and left fielder and for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He started his professional career with the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Professional career

Japanese career

Yoshida played college baseball for Aoyama Gakuin University and was selected by the Orix Buffaloes in the first round of the 2015 NPB draft.[1]

Yoshida first played in NPB for Orix during the 2016 season, when he had a .290 batting average with 10 home runs and 34 runs batted in (RBIs) in 63 games.[2] In 2017, he played 64 games with Orix, batting .311 with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs.[2] In 2018 and 2019, he played 143 games each season, batting .321 and .322, respectively, with an aggregate 55 home runs and 171 RBIs for the two seasons.[2] For 2020 through 2022, he had batting averages of .350, .339, and .335, with a total of 56 home runs and 224 RBIs in 349 games played across the three seasons.[2]

Yoshida hit two home runs in Game 5 of the 2022 Japan Series, including a walk-off;[3] Orix won the series in seven games (one game ended in a tie) over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

In seven seasons with Orix—2016 through 2022—Yoshida compiled a .327 batting average along with 467 RBIs and 133 home runs in 762 games.[2]

MLB career

On December 7, 2022, Yoshida was posted by Orix and made available to all 30 Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, opening a 30-day period to negotiate a contract.[4] On December 15, Yoshida signed a five-year contract with the Boston Red Sox,[5][6] reportedly worth $90 million.[7] In January 2023, he was ranked 87th in the Baseball America list of baseball's top 100 prospects, as the publication includes NPB players joining MLB in their rankings.[7] That ranking was considered "alarmingly low" by Peter Abraham, the Red Sox beat writer for The Boston Globe.[7] On April 23, 2023, Yoshida hit two home runs in the same inning, including a grand slam, in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Yoshida was named AL Player of the Week for the week of May 1–7, having gone 12-for-25 with a 1.319 OPS and not a single swing and a miss in this period.[8] For the season, Yoshida appeared in 140 games (84 starts in left field, 49 starts as designated hitter) while batting .289 with 15 home runs and 72 RBIs.[9]

For the 2024 season, the Red Sox decided to use Yoshida primarily as a designated hitter, with manager Alex Cora commenting about playing Yoshida in the outfield, "If we have to, we have to, but we prefer not."[10] For the season, Yoshida played only one inning of one game in the outfield.[9] At the plate, he appeared in 108 games, batting .280 with 10 home runs and 56 RBIs.[9] After the season, in early October, Yoshida underwent right shoulder labral repair surgery.[11]

International career

Yoshida with the WBC Japan national team at Tokyo Dome on March 16, 2023

Yoshida represented the Japan national baseball team in the 2014 Haarlem Baseball Week, 2015 Summer Universiade, 2019 exhibition games against Mexico, and 2019 WBSC Premier12.

On February 27, 2019, he was selected to the 2019 exhibition games against Mexico.[12]

On October 1, 2019, he was selected to the 2019 WBSC Premier12.[13]

In 2023, Yoshida represented Japan in the World Baseball Classic. He set a tournament record for RBIs with 13.[14] At the end of the tournament, he was named to the All-Classic Team.[15]

References

  1. ^ "2015年 プロ野球ドラフト会議 supported by リポビタンＤ". NPB.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Yoshida, Masataka". NPB.jp. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  3. ^ "Baseball: Masataka Yoshida blasts Buffaloes back into Japan Series tie". Mainichi Shimbun. October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  4. ^ Morosi, John Paul (December 6, 2022). "Japanese OF Yoshida to be posted to MLB Wednesday". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  5. ^ McGuire, Sean T. (December 15, 2022). "Red Sox Announce Signing Of Masataka Yoshida To Five-Year Contract". NESN. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  6. ^ Browne, Ian (December 15, 2022). "Why Yoshida chose Sox: 'The best one of all 30 teams'". MLB.com.
  7. ^ a b c Abraham, Peter (January 21, 2023). "Sunday Baseball Notes". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  8. ^ "Players and Play of the Week". MLB.com. May 8, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "Masataka Yoshida Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  10. ^ Speier, Alex (April 27, 2024). "Masataka Yoshida gets back in Red Sox lineup, as team keeps his glove out of the mix". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  11. ^ McWilliams, Julian (October 16, 2024). "Red Sox DH Masataka Yoshida has shoulder surgery to repair labrum". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  12. ^ "ENEOS 侍ジャパンシリーズ2019「日本 vs メキシコ」に出場するメンバー28名が決定". japan-baseball.jp (in Japanese). February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  13. ^ "「ENEOS 侍ジャパンシリーズ2019」出場選手決定について". japan-baseball.jp (in Japanese). October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  14. ^ "Allow Masataka Yoshida to introduce himself to the world". mlb.com. March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  15. ^ Clair, Michael (March 22, 2023). "Ohtani's MVP performance leads '23 All-Classic Team". MLB.com. Retrieved March 22, 2023.