Not a Knucklehead Idea

And now a Baseball break.

Was reading ESPN’s coverage of Eri Yoshida training with Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox. Yoshida is a female Japanese pitcher, who is playing with the Arizona Winter league. She got some tutoring on the knuckleball from Tim Wakefield.

When I was young, I read a book about a woman becoming a Major League pitcher. However, few women can throw major league fastball speed, because of a difference in upper body strength.

However the knuckleball is another matter. It doesn’t require near the strength of throwing a fastball. According to Wikipedia, her fastball maxes out at 63 MPH, and knuckleball hits 50 MPH, which is a little lower than the average male knuckleball, but on a knuckleball, you’re really looking for movement.

There’s not really an indication that Yoshida has the stuff to become a major league pitcher. She posted a 6.19 ERA in 19 innings in the Arizona Winter league. However, keep in mind, she’s 18 and it was only 19 innings pitched. In a limited number of innings, Knuckleballers will either be really good or horrendously terrible.

Whether Yoshida will develop a major league knuckleball remains to be seen, but I think the smart bet at this point is that if the Majors ever has a female pitcher, she’ll be a knuckleballer.