After twenty years of professional baseball, including seven (2008-14) with the Hanshin Tigers, Hiroshima Carp first baseman Takahiro Arai announced his retirement effective at season’s end. Despite a diminished role with the soon-to-be three-time CL champion Carp, Arai is a beloved teammate and player to all. Those who know him personally attest to his humility,…
When this book popped up on my radar, I knew I would be among the first to read it and review it, at least among the ex-pat population. I mean, who wouldn’t want to get some insight into the mind of one of Randy Messenger, Hanshin’s most beloved import players ever? My one hesitation was…
Japanese presentation about the Hanshin Tigers for a group of fans? Check. Hanshin Tigers proficiency test (expert level) with little preparation? Check. How to cap off the weekend? Easy. Fulfill one of the rewards of the H-TEN Kickstarter Campaign: a day at Koshien with T-Ray. One kind soul, Mr. Stephen Greene (CEO of RockCorps), generously…
The presentation went smoothly, and immediately afterwards, Jake and I recorded Episode 85 of the podcast. (Props to Jake, who had barely been back in Japan for 24 hours when I dragged him to this event, asked him to record the podcast with me and even nagged him to mix the sound for it afterwards!)…
I’m back in the swing of things, at long last! It has been a pretty hectic two months, which has meant very little in the way of new posts on the site. I’d apologize for it, except that I feel like I deserved the time off from closely following and reporting on the Tigers games…
T-Ray is joined in studio by Jake as they record in the same room for the second episode in a row. They recap the long road trip that the Tigers just came home from, and then give an abbreviated, English version of the presentation they had just finished giving in Japanese for the Amagasaki…
Here’s a look at my Hanshin calendar, which highlights the birthdays of Hanshin players past and present, as well as the game schedule for the this month of baseball. Much of the schedule is at Koshien Stadium or in Hiroshima – neither of which has been a friendly playing environment for the Tigers this year….