16-year-old Japanese girl picked in pro baseball draft

This is pretty cool:

A 16-year-old schoolgirl is making a unique pitch to become the first woman to play professional baseball in Japan.

High school student Eri Yoshida was drafted by the Kobe 9 Cruise, a professional team in a new independent Japanese league that will start its first season in April.

"I always dreamed of becoming a professional," Yoshida, who is 5-feet tall and weighs 114 pounds, told a news conference Monday. "I have only just been picked by the team and haven't achieved anything yet."

Yoshida throws a side-arm knuckleball and says she wants to follow in the footsteps of Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, who has built a successful major league career throwing a knuckleball.

I've always cheered for the players who succeed based on skill without having favorable genetics to supplement that. I suppose it comes back from when I swam competitively, and at the higher levels of competition tended to be shorter and slighter than the other swimmers. And I've never seen a sidearm knuckleball before.

The comments are slightly more depressing; they're the sort you get every time there's a discussion of women in baseball: many supportive folks, but a few who insist that women will never succeed at the professional level, or if they do--well, imagine how much better she'd be if she were a man! And on top of that, this one has all kinds of sexist/racist "Japanese schoolgirl" comments as well. (On the other hand, there's the kind of fan who acknowledges that this is quite an accomplishment but really just wants to figure out the physics and kinesiology involved.)

Same-sex kisses: tougher to explain than the Infield Fly Rule, apparently

Via The Curvature:

Lesbian kiss at Seattle ballpark stirs debate

As the Mariners played the Boston Red Sox on May 26, Sirbrina Guerrero and her date were approached in the third inning by an usher who told them their kissing was inappropriate, Guerrero said.

The usher, Guerrero said, told them he had received a complaint from a woman nearby who said that there were kids in the crowd of nearly 36,000 and that parents would have to explain why two women were kissing.

"Because if they didn't, they'd have to watch the Mariners?"

The code of conduct - announced before each game - specifically mentions public displays of affection that are "not appropriate in a public, family setting." Hale said those standards are based on what a "reasonable person" would find inappropriate.

Guerrero denied she and her date were groping each other, saying that along with eating garlic fries, they were giving each other brief kisses.

If it's just about the PDA distracting from the RBIs, there's an obvious solution here. Simply add more garlic to your garlic fries, Safeco concessioners. Problem solved.

Or better yet, M's management - embrace the embrace. Implement a "Seventh-Inning Smooch" and change the lyrics to "Let's Make Out at the Ballgame."

(For actual funny, go to William Wolfrum over at Shakesville.)

CDC doesn't have to pay MLB for stats

A fantasy baseball company wins a case against Major League Baseball for the right to use statistics without paying for a license. Reports at Baseball Primer and Baseball Musings, with the actual opinion here [PDF]. Personally, I'm a little disappointed they didn't reach the copyright question - ever since I read NBA v. Motorola in law school I've wondered how sports leagues got away with licensing their statistics.

To walk or not to walk

Josh Kalk at The Hardball Times looks at intentional walks this post-season. Of course, walking Ortiz falls into the "sometimes you push the right button and get a bad result" category. Bah.