Before the Boston Red Sox signed Masataka Yoshida they scouted the standout outfielder for a multi-year span. And one team scout went above and beyond when doing so.
After the pandemic restricted the ability to attend games, Red Sox scouts got an in-person sight of Yoshida playing in the Nippon Professional Baseball league. However, when seated at Rakuten Mobile Park, Boston scouts struggled to see the Orix Buffaloes star. Yoshida guarded left field but scouts were obstructed from their seating view.
With a massive Ferris wheel behind the left field wall, one Red Sox scout elected to take an unconventional yet creative approach.
"Kento Matsumoto, our boots on the ground, is always creative in how to get the best possible angles for us," Red Sox director of pro scouting Gus Quattlebaum said, according to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. "We were joking, 'Hey maybe you should use that Ferris wheel in left field,' and he actually did it."
This outside-the-box thinking paid off.
Matsumoto, who was already familiar with the area, used his phone to capture footage of the 29-year-old defending the outfield. He rode the Ferris wheel and when it reached its peak, Matsumoto used his phone to record from a bird's eye view angle. Those efforts ultimately helped the Red Sox evaluate Yoshida's defensive metrics.
"He actually caught some footage of Yoshida pursuing a ball, a tough chance down the left field line," Quattlebaum said. "So that was an amusing moment on our trip."
Aside from the obvious financial commitment (five years, $90 million), the hilarious story spoke volumes on Boston's part. It represents the organization's faith in Yoshida, who has already garnered some eye-brow-raising recognition from scouts and former big leaguers.
"There was a discrepancy in the industry and what people think of the power, that was the thing that stood out to us," Quattlebaum said. "Couple that with the swing-take decisions, it's not slash-and-dash, hit the ball on the ground and with surprising raw power. It changed the calculus for us as evaluators."
One reason is Yoshida's plate discipline. In 2022, he drew a career-high 80 walks and struck out only 41 times in 119 games played. The left-handed bat also hit .335 with 21 home runs and 88 RBIs that season.
