Female Knuckleballer Joins Minor League, Men's Baseball Team

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Japanese knuckleballer Eri Yoshida

​The next time someone tells you that you throw like a girl you might as well say thank you because a female knuckleballer is slated to join a men's, professional baseball team in early May, and the word on the street is that she has no problem keeping up with the guys.

The Chico Outlaws, a team in the 10-team Golden Baseball League, announced today that 18-year-old Eri Yoshida will be part of their pitching staff for the 2010 season.

Aside from being a woman, Yoshida is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 115 pounds, but apparently this chick can pitch.


She can't throw heat, but according to team officials, she's got a knuckleball that's "almost unhittable when she's on."

"I am grateful for this opportunity to pitch for the Chico Outlaws," Yoshida says in a press release. "This is a dream come true for me and I hope that I can contribute to the team to help them win and also to continue to improve as a pro baseball player."

Yoshida pitched in the Arizona Winter League in February and spent some time in March at the Boston Red Sox training camp in Florida, where she got to throw alongside her idol,  BoSox knuckler Tim Wakefield.

According to the team, Yoshida learned how to throw a knuckleball when she was in second grade by watching Wakefield on television from her native Japan, where she played professionally prior to coming to the United States.

The Golden Baseball League has teams in Yuma and Tucson, so if you want to check her out you don't have to drive too far.

For more information on Yoshida and the Golden Baseball League click here.