Red Sox Cant Retrieve Yoshida’s Milestone Ball
Red Sox left fielder Masataka Yoshida hit his first big league home run during Monday’s game at Fenway Park. However, after negotiating with the family who retrieved the milestone ball, the team ultimately could not secure a deal for the memento.
After Boston’s 7-6 loss to the Pirates, Yoshida said through a translator, Keiichiro Wakabayashi, “I hope that ball is coming back one day, “But today we lost. That’s more disappointing.”
The Family Reportedly Turned Down Offers
The family has Yoshida’s ball took it home after “they turned down several offers,” tweeted Tuesday by Red Sox beat reporter Carlos Yamazaki of the Tokyo Sports Press. “After all, it never came back to him,” Yamazaki said.
According to Jahmai Webster on the NESN broadcast, the family didn’t want to give the ball up because it was their son’s first game. However, many have been skeptical of this, given that someone gave them the ball, meaning they didn’t even catch it themselves. Quite odd, if you ask me.
Thoughts On The Situation
I just hope the family realizes this isn’t Barry Bonds’ 756th home run, Derek Jeter’s 3000th hit, or even Aaron Judge’s #62 from last season. Yoshida is a 29-year-old rookie who just hit his first home run of the season. The likelihood that he becomes a Hall of Fame player and the ball ends up being worth anything of significant value is basically zero.
The family could have gotten better value by exchanging the milestone home run for a few signed bats/balls, free tickets, and a nice meet-and-greet after the game with Yoshida. Obviously, it’s their right to do what they want with the ball, but all of this seems odd when you look at it. In the end, I just hope they come to their senses and do the right thing, and honestly, the smart thing.
Masa Mash
Yoshida’s home run was calculated at 390 feet, hit off a 96.2 mph fastball by Johan Ovideo. It also had a ridiculous exit velocity of 104.6 mph when it left his bat.
Once Yoshida returned to the Red Sox bench, the 29-year-old basked in his accomplishment by having his teammates come over and hand him his signature inflatable dumbbells, which he used for his celebration in Japan. Surely making it a special moment for him and his new teammates as he gets used to life in a new country.
So far this season, Yoshida has a batting average of .250 in 28 at-bats with a .344 on-base percentage, six runs, six RBIs, three walks, two strikeouts, and two stolen bases.
