The Boston Red Sox’s signing of Masataka Yoshida was made official Thursday, giving the Japanese standout a new home for the next several years.
Boston held an introductory press conference for Yoshida on Thursday at Fenway Park, opening the floor for questions about his potential role with the Red Sox, the process to sign him and much more. But before things got underway, Yoshida delivered a statement of his own to Red Sox Nation.
“Hi, I am Masataka Yoshida. Nice to meet you,” Yoshida said in English, per team-provided video. “I’m 29-years old. I have played (for the) Orix Buffaloes for seven years. I don’t speak English, so nervous. I want to learn English and I want to speak it, (so do) my daughters. I’m honored to be (a part of) Red Sox Nation, and I will do my best. Thank you.”
The rest of Yoshida’s participation in the press conference was done through the interpretation of his translator. Red Sox president Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom represented the organization alongside Yoshida, with his agent Scott Boras also taking part in the festivities. You can watch the full presser here.
Yoshida comes to Boston as a decorated player from Japan. In seven seasons in the Pacific League, Yoshida batted .327 with a .960 OPS, slugging 133 home runs and 467 RBIs. He was a two-time batting champion at Nippon Professional Baseball, making four All-Star games and helping lead Japan to a 2020 Olympic gold medal. The left-handed batter recorded a .447 on-base percentage in 119 games (508 plate appearances) last season. He hit 21 home runs with 88 RBIs and struck out 41 times.
Though projecting his translation to Major League Baseball is a near-impossible task, there is already plenty of belief out there that Yoshida could be a fruitful signing for the Red Sox.
