The Boston Red Sox gave Japan’s star hitter Masataka Yoshida (30) a major contract and threw the game.
American media NBC Sports Boston checked Boston’s outfield on the 2nd (Korean time) and asked, “Can Yoshida’s contact ability survive in the major leagues?”
Yoshida is a heavy hitter with a batting average of 302.7 (884 hits in 2703 at-bats), 133 homers, 467 RBIs, and an OPS of .960 in 762 Japanese professional baseball games. This year, he led Orix to the championship by playing an active role in 119 games with a batting average of 3.3 0.5 Lee (138 hits in 412 at-bats), 21 homers, 88 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.008. He is not a big shot who hits home runs, but he is a type of hitter who records high batting average and high on-base percentage with sophisticated batting skills.
Yoshida, who announced his advance to the major leagues after the end of last season, successfully entered the major leagues by signing a five-year, $90 million (approximately 117.8 billion won) contract with Boston. However, because he received such a huge contract, there was a controversy over whether Boston overpaid.스포츠토토
“Yoshida is one of the biggest enigmas in the baseball world taking on new challenges,” NBC Sports Boston said, “The results he recorded in Japan are really interesting. But he’s a risky gamble when he signs a five-year, $90 million contract with a player who’s never played in the majors before. Will Yoshida’s hitting technique be demonstrated in the major leagues? Can he become a solid left fielder or the best designated hitter?” He pointed out the dangers of the Yoshida contract.
The media said, “If Yoshida plays a similar role as he did in Japan, he will play a big role in Boston’s success in 2023. If they struggle, Boston Fronton will be hard to avoid criticism.”
NBC Sports Boston said, “Yoshida’s sensuous batting skills are fully demonstrated in the major leagues. He is in line with Fangraph’s predicted OPS of .867,” predicted the best case scenario. Conversely, the worst-case scenario is, “Major League scouts question Boston’s decision to give Yoshida $90 million and say, ‘I told you.’ Yoshida turns out to be a below-average defensive left fielder and realizes that hitting in the major leagues is a whole different level.”