Female Drafted to Professional Club in Japan

An Associated Press report tells us that Eri Yoshida, 16, has been drafted by the Kobe 9 Cruise, a Japanese team in a new independent professional baseball league.

Yoshida throws a side-arm knuckleball, and is all of five feet tall, 114 lbs.   She threw an inning of no-hit baseball during her tryout.

As someone with zero athletic ability (I really do throw like a girl, and badminton is the only "sport" at which I can beat my 9 year old son), I'm so excited about this.  I would love nothing more than to see a woman compete successfully against male players.

The article didn't give any detail on her baseball experience thus far, though I'd be interested to hear about it.  I'll be keeping a watchful eye on this young potential phenom's progress.