PHOTO: Red Sox's Masataka Yoshida sports breezy floral shirt & fedora hat in Dominican Republic
Masataka Yoshida and the Boston Red Sox recently completed their two-game series at the Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The players enjoyed their time in the Dominican Republic.
Yoshida was spotted in a breezy floral shirt and fedora hat in recently released images from mlb.fits on Instagram. Other players also clicked were Rafael Devers, Randy Arozarena, Junior Caminero, Trevor Story and Harold Ramirez.
The two games between the Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays are part of the 2024 MLB World Tour. The series, which was part of spring training, went the Red Sox's way.
Masataka Yoshida played as a DH in the first game, going 1-2, including one hit and a walk. In the second game, he played left field and had a hit in two plate appearances.
Masataka Yoshida opened up on his experience playing in MLB and how different it was from NPB
In a recent interaction, Yoshida Masataka opened up about the differences between playing in Japan and the United States.
“Time difference, that was something that I didn't get to experience in Japan,” Yoshida said.
He added:
“So that was something new to me. And in Japan, we take public transportation, and charter and take a private plane. So that was something different, too. And sometimes, after the game, we’d hop on the plane and get back to Boston in the early morning, so that was something new as well."
Masataka knows this difference and says that he is adjusting himself. He also shared that the stadiums here are different from those in Japan.
“Defensively, obviously, the stadiums and ballparks are different from Japan, the fences and the structure of it,” Yoshida said. “So there's a lot to still adjust to, but I want to stay ready, and I've been working with [outfield coach Kyle Hudson] on footwork and everything.”
Before arriving in the MLB, Masataka Yoshida played for the Orix Buffaloes in the Nippon Professional Baseball League. He was signed by the Boston Red Sox on a five-year, $90 million deal ahead of the 2023 season.
Moreover, he also represented Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and had the most RBIs (13) in the tournament. He was also named to the All-Classic team.