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Masataka Yoshida may be a 29-year-old rookie for the Boston Red Sox with a well-established track record in Japan, but he long imagined making a name for himself in the MLB. And the star he aspired to emulate was Bryce Harper.
Yoshida wore the two-time MVP’s No. 34 (Washington Nationals days), has “bh” in the beginning of his Instagram handle and named his dog Harper. Of course an even more flattering form of imitation is studying and mirroring his approach in the batter’s box and in the field. Eventually, he earned the nickname Harper-san.
Now, the Boston left fielder who is taking the league by storm gets to come face-to-face with his baseball hero.
“I’m really honored to play against him,” Yoshida told Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic.
The streaking Sox (19-14) visit the underachieving Philadelphia Phillies (15-17) for a three-game set this weekend. Yoshida started off slow and chased too many pitches out of the zone before surging near the end of April. He has undeniably been an essential part of one of MLB’s most dangerous offenses.
Yoshida is batting .317 with six home runs, 24 RBIs and a .948 OPS. His adjustment period feels like ages ago, with surefire American League Rookie of the Year honors waiting for him if he maintains this type of production. The Red Sox will likely need him to if they are going to play October baseball.
He has quickly introduced himself to an American audience and already feels like a pretty big name in the sport, but that does not mean the player also called “Macho Man” won’t be a little starstruck when he shares Citizens Bank Park with his idol. Whatever chills he feels will not rattle his concentration, though
“He’s a really great hitter and swings aggressively and is powerful,” Yoshida said, per The Athletic. “I was watching him since he was with the Nationals as a rookie, I really respected how he played.”
It is Harper’s turn to become better acquainted with this Japanese juggernaut.