Japanese Baseball Star Apparently Wants to Play for the Phillies and Named His Dog After Bryce Harper
I didn’t know who Masataka Yoshida was 30 minutes ago, but if the Phillies don’t sign him this franchise is unserious. Those are the rules:
Orix Buffaloes star Masataka Yoshida has stated that he wants to be posted.
The face of the franchise since he debuted in 2016, Yoshida is an on-base machine (career .421) who's coming off his first 1.000 OPS season, and put up a 201 wRC+.
Preference is likely the #Phillies pic.twitter.com/ewE3jQJg8c
— Gaijin Baseball/外国人野球 (@GaijinBaseball) October 31, 2022
He’s one of the best players in Japan and wants to play for the Phillies because he loves Bryce Harper:
He is Masataka Yoshida.
This homer was hited by him.
Especially he loves Bryce Harper.
He named his petdog Harper. pic.twitter.com/gQNPctOGSZ— たかもり。 (@mtakamori827) October 27, 2022
Bryce Harper. Big in Japan.
Yoshida is 29, bats lefty, plays outfield, and he’s an on base machine who never strikes out. Less than 60 Ks the last two seasons in almost 1,000 at bats is insane:
Is Masataka Yoshida someone who might come to MLB soon? Guys numbers look pretty great. Sub 30 Strikeouts in his last 2 seasons also seems BONKERS. pic.twitter.com/jcehmSXM3S
— Mr. Dandori (@HulkaMatt) March 16, 2022
His nickname is also Macho Man and he might be the best pure hitter in the world:
Career numbers (2016-Present):
762 Games
.327/.421/.539
.960 OPS
884 Hits
133 Home Runs
467 RBI
21 Steals
174 wRC+
32.8 WAR2 PL Batting Titles
2 PL OBP-King Awards
4x All-Star
4x PL Best 9
2022 PLCS MVPAlso his nickname is “Macho Man”
— Gaijin Baseball/外国人野球 (@GaijinBaseball) October 31, 2022
Do the Phillies have a spot for him? I’m sure Topper can get creative. It’s worth it for the Sayonara Bombs alone:
Great moment in the Japan Series. Baseball is beautiful. 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/3gbtv8axqy
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 27, 2022
