Masataka Yoshida Becomes First Red Sox Player to Reach Milestone Since Ted Williams
While Miami Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez remains in pursuit of the first .400 season since Ted Williams' 1941 campaign, one Boston Red Sox rookie has already earned a spot alongside the legend in the record books.
Outfielder Masataka Yoshida finished Friday night's game against the Chicago Cubs 2-for-5, bringing his streak of multi-hit performances to eight games. Yoshida is the first left-handed hitter to achieve that feat with the Red Sox since Williams did it all the way back in 1940, according to former team employee JP Long.
No other player has strung together as many as eight games in a row with two-plus hits this season, and no other Japanese-born player has ever done it in MLB history – not even Hall of Fame outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who owns the single-season record for hits.
Yoshida has recorded exactly two hits in seven-consecutive games, plus three hits in the game before that. During that stretch, Yoshida is hitting .486, bringing his season average up to .317.
Just before the All-Star break, Yoshida became the first Red Sox rookie to record seven-straight multi-hit games since Johnny Pesky in 1942.
The 29-year-old also owns an .872 OPS, having recorded 10 home runs, 19 doubles, two triples, 44 RBI and six stolen bases through 79 appearances.
Over the course of his seven years with the Orrix Buffaloes in Nippon Professional Baseball, Yoshida hit .326 with a .927 OPS. Yoshida hit .351, .336 and .336 in his final three seasons in Japan.
Yoshida's continued consistency at the plate stateside helped Boston won its first game of the second half of the 2023 season. The Red Sox beat the Cubs 8-3, never seeing their lead dip below two runs after the second inning.
Boston and Chicago resume their series Saturday at 2:20 p.m. back at Wrigley Field.
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