Yoshida Masataka (30, Boston Red Sox)’s long wait has been rewarded after 16 years.
Yoshida finally became a ‘successful virtue’. On the 7th (Korean time) ahead of the game against Philadelphia held at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Yoshida met his childhood idol Bryce Harper (31, Philadelphia Phillies).
Yoshida has been a known MLB fan since he was 14 years old. He dreamed of MLB more than Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and his first dream came true when he joined Boston this season.
Her next dream is to meet her idol, Harper. Yoshida’s SNS account is ‘BH-Masataka34’. ‘BH’ in front is Bryce Harper’s initials, and number 34 is Harper’s uniform number in Washington. Yoshida’s dog’s name is also ‘Harper’.
Harper has been wearing number 3 since moving to Philadelphia in 2019. However, Yoshida used number 34 until 2021 with the Orix Buffaloes. He switched to number 7 in 2022, but in 2023 he returned to number 34 in the WBC (World Baseball Classic). However, number 34 in Boston is David Ortiz’s permanent number. Because of this, Yoshida is wearing number 7 again this year. 안전놀이터
On this day, the dream finally came true. On this day, Philadelphia’s official SNS posted a photo of the thrilling meeting between Yoshida and Harper. Yoshida smiles broadly while accepting the ‘Idol’ sign bat. Returning to the beginning, the feeling of a baseball boy is the same.
Harper shouldn’t feel bad about the fact that an active major leaguer who is a year older is also a fan of hers. Harper, who heard Yoshida’s story in advance, presented two of his own signed bats and spikes, including the bat he used in last year’s National League Championship Series (NLCS). Yoshida was thrilled, saying, “My treasure!”, and Harper expressed his gratitude for respecting him.
Yoshida recorded hits in 15 consecutive games this season, batting average of 3.15, 6 home runs, 24 RBIs, and OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.937, continuing the era of success in the United States. On this day, we took a scheduled break according to the director’s instructions.
Harper hit his first home run of the season in 4 games after returning from Tommy John surgery (joint surgery on the medial ligament of the elbow). After his return, he is 6-for-16 with no bat. The 43,832 home fans who filled the field enthusiastically cheered for Harper’s home run.
However, it was Yoshida’s team who laughed. Boston won 7-4 with the help of Rafael Devers, who wielded 3 hits, and won 8 consecutive victories. Philadelphia is on a six-game losing streak.