Knuckleball princess aims high

Eri Yoshida was the talk of the town last summer in Chico—heck, as the first female to pitch in a men’s pro league in at least a decade, she was the talk of the baseball-loving world. As the buzz has it, she’s currently training in the Arizona Winter League, with hopes of making it to the major leagues.

Yoshida (pictured), the teenage Japanese knuckleball-pitching sensation, had quite a year as an Outlaw. Now, in her second season in the AWL, she’s pitching for the Yuma Scorpions and, according to a press release, is being scouted by the likes of the Red Sox, Phillies and Diamondbacks.

The AWL is a training league that attracts free agents hoping to get pro contracts. Last year 60 players got signed, five of them to major-league teams.