Masataka Yoshida entered the professional stage after being nominated by the Orix Buffaloes in the first round of the 2015 Japanese professional baseball rookie draft. Yoshida played in 63 games in his first season of debut, hitting 10 home runs with a batting average of 0.290 OPS of 0.854. And the following year, he played in 64 games and adjusted to the professional stage with a 12 home run batting average of 0.311 OPS of 0.928 with a clear result.
Yoshida played the full-time season from his third year and played in 716 games, including double-digit home runs for seven consecutive seasons, with 884 hits, 133 home runs, 467 RBIs, 418 runs scored, and a 0.327 OPS 0.960 batting average. And after expressing his intention to challenge the Major League through the “posting system” after the end of the 2022 season, he succeeded in signing a five-year, $90 million (about 114.9 billion won) super-large contract with the Boston Red Sox.
Yoshida reigned as the best hitter in Japanese professional baseball, recording double-digit home runs for seven consecutive years and a high batting average of more than .300 for six consecutive years while playing in Japan, but the reaction after signing a contract with Boston was different from expected. At that time, Boston fans as well as local multiple media outlets formed a “overpay” public opinion, saying they invested too much money in Yoshida, who had not been verified to be able to work in the Major League.
Yoshida appeared in seven games at the World Baseball Classic (WBC), which he participated in earlier this season, with nine hits, two home runs, 13 RBIs, and a batting average of 0.409, and the story of “overpay” seemed to disappear little by little. However, after the regular season began, the word “overpay” began to rise little by little again as his batting average fell to 0.167 in mid-April.
However, this was only a temporary 메이저토토 slump due to the effects of adaptation and injury. Yoshida shook off the injury and started swinging the bat. In particular, starting with the Minnesota Twins on April 21st (Korea Standard Time), he showed a hit streak for 16 consecutive games, raising his batting average to 0.321, and continues to be active enough to aim for this year’s Rookie of the Year title.
Yoshida showed an “up & down” after raising his batting average to 0.321, but he revived. In particular, Yoshida raised his batting average to 0.316 by hitting multi-hits in seven consecutive games from the Toronto Blue Jays on the 1st to the last game of the first half. In seven consecutive games, multi-hit was the first time in 81 years for a Boston player since Johnny Pesky in 1942.
Yoshida, who started the season amid numerous concerns, played in 78 games and finished the first half with a good performance of 95 hits, 10 home runs, 44 RBIs, 47 runs scored and a batting average of 0.316 OPS 0.874. Of course, it is not a full-time season, and there are not many samples, but local media now seem to recognize Yoshida’s skills as he calmed the controversy over “overpay” with “skill.”
On the 13th, “MLB.com ” evaluated Yoshida as the theme of Boston while taking time to settle the first half of the year. “When Boston signed a five-year, $90 million contract with Yoshida in December last year, there were people outside the Boston club who questioned whether Yoshidang’s skills would work in the Major League,” the media said. But the questions were answered,” stressing that it was never overpay.
“MLB.com ” said, “Yoshida was one of the best hitters in Boston in the first half. “I was one of the purest hitters in the game,” he said. “Yoshida finished the first half with seven consecutive multi-hits.” Yoshida has sharp eyes and doesn’t have many strikeouts (on-base percentage 0.382, 27 walks, 36 strikeouts),” he said, looking back on his performance in the first half.
The only flaw in Yoshida at the moment is the physical element. In the case of Japanese professional baseball, like the KBO League, they rest on most Mondays. But Major League Baseball is a little different. In addition, in the case of big leagues, the distance traveled is very long. In order to play a full-time season in the Major League, it is necessary to adapt to the schedule.
“MLB.com ” said, “One thing manager Alex Cora realized is that Yoshida needs to get enough rest while adjusting to the tight game schedule of the Major League,” adding, “Except for the schedule, Yoshida’s technical skills do not interfere with playing in the big leagues.”