KFDM COOP Posted November 18, 2008 Report Posted November 18, 2008 Japanese schoolgirl, 16, picked in baseball draft TOKYO (AP) - A 16-year-old schoolgirl is making a pitch to become the first woman to play professional baseball in Japan. Sure gives new meaning to the phrase, "You throw like a girl." (Kyodo News / Associated Press) High school student Eri Yoshida was drafted by the Kobe 9 Cruise, a professional team in a new independent Japanese league that starts its first season in April. "I always dreamed of becoming a professional," Yoshida said at a news conference Monday. "I have only just been picked by the team and haven't achieved anything yet." Yoshida, a right-hander who is 5 feet and 114 pounds, throws a sidearm knuckleball and wants to emulate Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. Yoshida threw a hitless inning against male batters during a tryout this month and was among 33 players picked in the draft.
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