I will admit that this is probably the longest it’s taken me to read through a book from start to finish. But don’t let that lead you to believe that it was a boring or hard read. Far from it. In fact, as I have said on other occasions, legendary pitcher Yutaka Enatsu is among…
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. (A clearer look at the schedule can also be seen here, with updated results as they come). Also, check out July 30, which represents a historic…
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. (A clearer look at the schedule can also be seen here, with updated results as they come). Not included on the calendar: a certain blogger celebrates…
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 first month of BASEBALL!!! (That schedule can also be seen here, with updated results as they come). And if you pay extra careful attention, you’ll see that there are three…
< Previous Next > Date: October 13, 2013 Shinjiro Hiyama had a long, productive career with the Tigers. He played 22 seasons, all with Hanshin, and finished 4th all-time in games played (1959), 9th in home runs (159) and 9th in runs batted in (707). This in spite of being used primarily as a pinch…
< Previous Next > Date: September 15, 2003 When you go 17 straight seasons without even contending for the pennant, seasons like this seem surreal. These Tigers won at least 15 games in each of the first four months of the season, and became the fastest team ever to reach 70 wins in a…
< Previous Next > Date: November 2, 1985 The drought had gone on long enough. In fact, there were players on the Tigers roster who were still in diapers the last time the team had won a pennant in 1964. And this team had a lot of the right pieces to take the team…
< Previous Next > Dates: October 15-18, 2014 To better understand the significance of this moment, you need to know the Central League’s playoff system. Until and including 2006, the team that finished first in the regular season standings automatically advanced to the Nippon Series. However, in 2007, the CL introduced the Climax Series. The…
< Previous Next > Date: June 12, 1999 Hanshin fans had had very little to cheer about for years. Fourteen seasons since the last championship and four more until the next, there was no telling when the Dark Ages would come to an end. One of the few bright spots on this team was a…
< Previous Next > Date: July 30, 2004 The ironman was on a mission. And not even a broken wrist was going to stop him. Playing in his 698th consecutive full game (no innings off) on July 29th, Tomoaki Kanemoto needed just 3 more games to match the NPB record of 700, set by Hideshi…