Editor’s Note: This interview was made possible by Daveson Pérez, Boston Red Sox Manager, Baseball Communications & Media Relations, and Mr. Yoshida’s English translator Kento Masumoto.Sampan speaks with the superstar Boston Red Sox Japanese outfielder about his life, goals, and baseball in the United States.

One of the more exciting elements of the 2023 Major League Baseball season for the Boston Red Sox has been the acquisition of 29 year old Japanese outfielder superstar Masataka Yoshida, AKA “Macho Man” during his rise to fame in Nippon baseball. There was no clear consensus about the off season signing. His five year 90 million dollar contract represented the largest amount ever paid for a position player coming to Japan from the MLB. He’s small (5 ft. 8 in., 176 pounds), old for a rookie (turning 30 in July) and as of last April still untested against American players.

From April 20 to May 9, Yoshida has hit in all 16 games in which he’s played. His 28 hits and 48 total bases during that span are the most in the MLB. Baseball is a game of numbers and statistics, following the peaks and valleys of one team as it claws its way through one nail-biting pitcher’s duel after another. On the other hand, baseball can also be a grueling test of attention and endurance. No matter how many adjustments are made to move the action along, sometimes the poetry of a pitch or the miracle of a triple play or pop up fly or slide to home won’t matter if the game is six hours long. You’ve got to be at work tomorrow at 7 am., your kids are falling asleep in their harsh wooden seats, and it looks like rain. Sometimes baseball can be a drag.

It’s during these moments when baseball pulls itself up from tedium and brings us powerful, charismatic players like Yoshida that remind us how American the sport can be. However, players like Yoshida should also remind us that Japan’s long history with baseball is often overlooked in the history books. American English teacher Horace Wilson introduced the game to his students at Kasei Academy in 1872 and it was both popularized and refined through the 1880s. The first professional baseball team, The Great Japan Tokyo Baseball Club, was formed in 1934, succeeding against a team of American All-Stars including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

While Ruth proved a charismatic American baseball diplomat in Japan during that tour, history and the pending war put an end to this seemingly endless goodwill. National alliances with lethal consequences took the place of harmless sports competitions. Hawaiian-born Japanese-American athlete Wallace Yonamine was key to reconciling American and Japanese sports fans in a post WWII world.

Robert Whiting’s 1989 book You Gotta Have Wa noted that in baseball games, “…the emphasis in the United States is on the role of the individual, but that is not so much the case in Japan, where the focus is on the strength and harmony of the group.” However, some see this a a stereotype and assert that Japanese baseball is “Not a window onto a homogenous and unchanging national character, but is a fascinating sight for seeing how these national debates and concerns play out-just as in the United States.”

National debates and sociological conclusions aside, the game can be extremely exciting. Watching the growth of any young player, even an “old” rookie like Masataka Yoshida, can give hope to even the most jaded Red Sox fan, especially those of us all too familiar with the heartache of most Red Sox teams prior to 2004. Sampan spoke with Yoshida during a recent game in Atlanta. What follows are edited answers to our questions as received via audio.

SAMPAN: Baseball has had a 150 year history in your country. Considering that the first baseball game in the United States was in 1847, our history is comparable. Are you finding American style baseball very different from the way you played in Japan?

YOSHIDA: Yes, the difference is that in the United States it’s more powerful and athletic, so the abilities of each player are better than in Japan.

Yoshida added that while baseball is a game of hand signals and the rosters are becoming more diverse, therefore a common spoken language is difficult to use, he tries to use body language as a way to remain connected with his teammates and coach. While this can sometimes result in misunderstandings and misinterpretations, he doesn’t believe anything ever gets lost in translation. Among the players he looks up to are outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.

SAMPAN: How did the game become part of your life?

YOSHIDA: Baseball is my life. I have played for a long time and I created my personality through baseball.

SAMPAN: What is the ultimate goal for Japanese baseball players?

YOSHIDA: We want to contribute to our team’s winning any game. I also want to be the number one player.

SAMPAN: What are you learning about the history of the Boston Red Sox as a major league baseball team?

YOSHIDA: The Red Sox are a really traditional team and I also think we’re in the toughest Division.

SAMPAN: What would you like Bostonians to understand about Japanese culture through the way you play baseball?

YOSHIDA: We are polite and respectful to each other.

SAMPAN: Do you consider yourself a cultural ambassador for baseball at the end of the day?

YOSHIDA:  If I have the opportunity to be an ambassador I’d like to tell the next generation I learned a lot of things from baseball.

Masataka Yoshida’s Introductory Press Conference: