Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida hit his first home run in Major League Baseball on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had previously gone 4 for 13 (.308/.400/.308) in his first three MLB games.
Yoshida's home run, which tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the first inning (GameTracker), came on a 96 mph fastball from Pirates right-hander Johan Oviedo. (The Red Sox would later take the lead.) According to Statcast, the ball carried 390 feet and had an exit velocity of 104.6 mph. Here's the scene, in all its moving picture glory:
Masataka Yoshida's first career home run ties the game! pic.twitter.com/qjb8fjpJcn
— MLB (@MLB) April 3, 2023
Yoshida, 29, joined the Red Sox over the winter on a five-year contract worth $90 million. He had previously spent seven seasons with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league. There, he batted .327/.421/.539 with 133 home runs over the course of 762 regular season contests.
Yoshida was part of the loaded Japan lineup that won the World Baseball Classic and also featured the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Lars Nootbaar, and Munetaka Murakami. His participation in the tournament limited his exposure to MLB pitchers, and he finished the exhibition season having played in just five games. In those contests -- and bear in mind, spring training stats seldom have predictive power -- he went 2 for 12 with two walks and four strikeouts.
Boston's decision to sign Yoshida to such a contract drew criticism from around corners of the league. Evaluators felt Yoshida had good contact and on-base skills, but questioned if his power would transfer in whole, and did not believe he would provide much in the way of defensive or baserunning value. It's to be seen if Yoshida and the Red Sox get the last laugh -- more blasts like the one on Monday night would certainly help in that effort.
