Eri Yoshida - Japan's First Female Pro Baseball Pitcher

A landmark in athletics… and gender equality

Gender equity has been difficult to come by when it comes to how much a woman earns versus how much a man earns. Numerous countries have been more forward thinking, leaving the door open for women to prosper in their careers and ability to access short-term credit like payday loans. On the other hand, some countries hold to antiquated ideas that a woman should not receive equal pay for equal work or have the freedom to climb the career ladder. This inequity has never been acceptable; considering the current state of the world economy, it makes less sense than ever.

But how about this? In Japan, a nation whose history has been largely devoid of male-female equality, a young woman by the name of Eri Yoshida, 17,  signed a contract in December 2008 to pitch in professional baseball. She is Japan’s first female pro pitcher, and her recent debut against all-male competition was promising. Could women be on their way into the salary bracket of professional baseball players? I have little doubt that the talent is out there… but is this opportunity knocking?

Yoshida pitched a scoreless debut

Alden Gonzalez reports for MLB.com that the side-arming knuckleballer of the Kobe 9 Cruise struck out a batter in her professional debut. The rookie hurler entered in the ninth inning of the Kansai Independent League season opener in Osaka, Japan. After walking her first batter on four straight pitches and giving up a steal, the 5-foot-, 114 hurler set the next batter down swinging before being taken out. Per Associated Press reports, Yoshida’s club beat the Osaka Gold Villicanes 5-0 before an enthusiastic Osaka Dome crowd of 11,592. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Eri Yoshida - Japan's First Female Pro Baseball Pitcher"