Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida got his first taste of Opening Day in Major League Baseball Thursday, and what better place to do it than historic Fenway Park.
Although the Red Sox lost their opener to the Baltimore Orioles in a 10-9 thriller, Yoshida put together a pretty impressive debut. The 29-year-old rookie from Japan went 2-for-4 at the plate, scoring a run and driving in one as well.
While the brisk early-spring New England weather didn’t seem to impact Yoshida’s play, he certainly felt the chill.
“It was very cold, but my heart was burning,” Yoshida said after the game.
Talk about firing up the Beantown faithful. As if his play wasn’t enough to win the hearts of Red Sox fans, that quote certainly adds fuel to the flames.
The Red Sox turned a lot of heads when they signed Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million contract last December. Boston also had to pay a posting fee of $15.4 million to Yoshida’s former team the Orix Buffaloes, putting the total cost for his services north of $100 million.
Yoshida was a four-time all-star in Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan’s top league. He also helped Japan win its third World Baseball Classic title this March, earning a spot on the All-WBC team for his efforts.
It may take a bit for Masataka Yoshida to establish himself as an all-star player in the MLB. It took him almost no time to engrain himself into Boston sports lore. Red Sox fans may have found their new favorite player.
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