Japan's Female Pitching Whiz May Join US Men's Pro Team

"Knuckleball Princess" Eri Yoshida was the first woman to play pro baseball in Japan and she's now being offered the chance to become the first Japanese woman to play pro ball in an American men's league. The 18-year-old super athlete has been offered a contract to play for the Chico Outlaws in the independent Golden Baseball League, the Japan Times reports.

Yoshida, currently pitching for the Yuma Scorpions in the Arizona Winter League, says she needs to discuss the offer with her parents before making up her mind. The 5-foot-1 Yoshida says she learned to pitch knuckleball by watching videos of her idol, Tim Wakefield, who she met for pitching tips at the Red Sox practice field in Florida this week.
(More Tim Wakefield stories.)