The Boston Red Sox made a bold signing this offseason by agreeing to a massive contract with Japanese star Masataka Yoshida.
After dominating in Japan, Yoshida was ready to take his talents to MLB.
Yoshida is 29 years old and spent the last seven seasons playing in the Nippon Professional Baseball league.
He was lauded for his ability to command the strike zone.
Throughout this NPB career, he had 421 walks and 300 strikeouts.
But many people wondered how his game would translate to MLB.
Well, it has not taken Yoshida long to answer that question.
He was recently named American League Player of the Week.
That's AL Player of the Week Masataka Yoshida to you. pic.twitter.com/d28ClktZRi
— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 8, 2023
Yoshida has been on a tear of late.
Over the last seven games, Yoshida is hitting .464 with two home runs, eight RBI, and eight runs scored.
He looks like one of the best pure hitters in baseball.
Also, he is a major reason for the Red Sox’s early-season success.
Boston has a record of 21-15 on the year.
That record has them only fourth in the AL East, but it is the best division in baseball as all five teams have a winning record.
Yoshida followed a similar path to that of MLB legend Ichiro Suzuki.
They both played in Japan until their late 20s before coming over to the MLB.
Ichiro will go down as one of the best hitters in MLB history.
Yoshida has a long way to go to reach that level of recognition.
But, he is off to a fast start in his MLB career.
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