“He can hit up to 45 home runs in a year.”

This is the one-season performance of outfielder Masataka Yoshida (30) expected by Boston Red Sox’s “legend” Jim Rice (70). In an interview with Sports Hochi, a Japanese sports magazine, Rice, who is inducted into the Hall of Fame, praised him saying, “Although he is small, his lower body is solid and his upper body is large, so he has excellent skills to put power on the ball.”

He continued, “Considering that 81 games are played at (Boston’s home stadium) Fanway Park, it is possible to hit 402 bases and hit 45 home runs per year.”

1 m73, 80 kg. Despite his small stature, he combined power with sophisticated batting ability.

Yoshida hit his fifth home run of the season against left-handed starter Yusei Kikuchi (32) against the Toronto Blue Jays on the 3rd (Korean time). During his days in Nippon Professional Baseball, he had a batting average of 101.5 against Kikuchi (3 hits in 26 at-bats) with 6 strikeouts, hitting his first home run in the major leagues. 스포츠토토

On April 23, against the Milwaukee Brewers, he hit a one-run home run and a home run with bases loaded in two at-bats in the 8th inning.

Yoshida recorded a career batting average of ‘3027’ in Nippon Professional Baseball. He has the best contact ability and has a good starting line, so he has a low strikeout rate and a high on-base percentage.