An hour before game time, 5-foot, 1-inch, 115-pound Eri Yoshida makes her way towards the Chico Outlaws clubhouse. Half a dozen cameramen swing around to catch the stroll. A teammate lets Yoshida know it is safe to enter the locker room, but a fan stops her to try out the new Japanese word she's learned. "Gunbara" the woman says. Too polite to correct the fan ("gambate" is the word - meaning both "good luck" and "try hard"), Yoshida smiles and replies with a "yes" to indicate she's got the message.
An hour later, Yoshida is an international celebrity as she becomes the first woman to pitch professionally in men's leagues in both Japan and the United States, and the first to do so in the U.S. since Ila Borders in 2000, in Chico's 8-6 victory over the Tijuana Cimarrones on Saturday night.
The 18-year-old Yoshida was already a household name in Japan where she became the first female to play professional baseball in that country when she went 0-2 with a 4.03 ERA in 10 2/3 innings pitching for the Kobe Cruise 9 of the independent Kansai League. Her signing with the Chico Outlaws of the Golden Baseball League (independent) made headlines there. It is also big news in the U.S. as media from PBS to TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) were on hand to witness the event.
A sidearm knuckleballer dubbed the "Knuckle Princess," Yoshida's first batter faced was former San Francisco Giant Ivan Ocha, who surprised everyone by laying a perfect bunt down the third base line. Yoshida then got Erold Andrus to foul out before getting Jackson Melian to hit into a double play. Yoshida pumped her fist as she walked towards the dugout, having faced the minimum number of batters.
Yoshida's inning was not over. Chico rallied in the bottom of the first, highlighted by a three-run shot by J.J. Sherrill that actually hit a train moving along tracks just beyond Nettleton Field's outfield fence. A couple more hits gave Yoshida, in the ninth position, a chance to bat. She hit an RBI single that gave Chico a 4-0 lead and had the 4,000+ fans on their feet.
Yoshida's second inning started well, retiring the first two batters she faced, before hitting Carlos Lopez. The hit-by-pitch proved costly as the next batter, Juan Velasquez, hit a two-run shot over the center field wall.
Yoshida looked like she had recovered in the third inning, again retiring the first two batters she faced as hitters continued to be confounded by the slow moving knuckleballs. Yoshida's inexperience started to show, however, and three hits, a base on balls, a wild pitch, and a balk later, the Cimarrones had tied the score at four.
The game had a very international flavor, from the Mexico-based opponent and the playing of the Mexican National Anthem along with the Star Spangled Banner, to the large presence of Japanese fans and media. Perhaps the best Outlaw for the evening was newly activated Javier Ortiz, a product of Colombia, who gave up no runs on two hits in four innings of relief. Yet there was no doubt that this was Eri Yoshida's night.
In all Yoshida's numbers were not that impressive. She gave up four runs on five hits with no strikeouts, a base on balls, one batter hit, and two wild pitches. That didn't detract from the achievement.
Yo Yomura, who was visiting his sister in Sacramento from Matsue, Japan, decided to make the trip to Chico when he learned that Yoshida was pitching. "I was almost crying, I was so elated," said Yomura in Japanese when describing the experience of watching Yoshida pitch.
Mika, a student from Okinawa studying at Butte College concurred. "This is exciting. We are so proud she is from Japan."
It wasn't just Japanese fans who were inspired. The stadium seemed to be flowing with young girls excited to see a women make it in a men's league. Mothers were ready to inspire their daughters as well. Chico State alumna Mika Kuriyama made the three-hour drive from San Leandro so that her daughter Hannah could see the game. "[Yoshida] sticks to it and I admire what that takes. I want Hannah to see that."
The game is over and a flurry of photographers race to get photos as Yoshida walks across the field for a postgame press conference. Fans cheer and one young man pronounces his love for Yoshida at the top of his lungs. Seemingly not phased by the attention, Yoshida tips her hat in acknowledgment. The fans cheer again.
A few minutes later, Yoshida quietly answers media questions through an interpreter as reporters crowd around. Young girls cling to the chain link fence behind her, and fans in the parking lot just beyond the fence yell out words of encouragement and gratitude for the inspiration.
Yoshida knows she has work to do. She rates her performance as a 20 on a scale of 100. When asked what her best moment was, she tells everyone the end of the first inning, because the opponent didn't score any runs.
Ten minutes later, boys and girls, men and women stand outside Yoshida's separate clubhouse seeking autographs. An Outlaws official comes out to tell everyone that Eri will sign autographs for kids only, but that she needs to go home and get some rest. The children get excited and get their pens and baseballs ready as they hope to be one of the first to get an autograph from Chico's new hero.
