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Toritani and His Streak – CL Scouts Chime In

Toritani and His Streak – CL Scouts Chime In

The original article can be read here 元の記事はこちら Hanshin infielder Takashi Toritani (34) was the lone Tiger selected to the 2015 Mazda All-Star Game (July 17 – Tokyo Dome; July 18 – Mazda Stadium) by both fans and players alike. He was dropped to 7th in the batting order for the first time in 5…

Series Recap – June 30-July 2, 2015

Series Recap – June 30-July 2, 2015

It must have been getting lonely at the top. The Hanshin Tigers were the lone Central League team with a winning record heading into the last series of June, and they were riding a 7-game undefeated streak that stretched back to the middle of the month. Their best hitters were heating up, and their starters…

Season Turned Around?

Season Turned Around?

The Hanshin Tigers were seven games out of first place on May 24. Their record was a dismal 21-25, and they were heading into the interleague mini-season, one which has never been kind to them. With the first-place Yomiuri Giants as defending interleague champs, their lead over the Tigers could have easily reached double digits in…

Here’s to you, #8!

Here’s to you, #8!

It is fitting that the star of the Tigers’ eighth straight home win is number eight, Kosuke Fukudome. The 38-year old had a game for the ages on Saturday, not only reaching base every time up, but scoring on every occasion as well. The Tigers won 5-3, and we could spend some time looking at the…

Mini-Series Recap – June 23-24, 2015

Mini-Series Recap – June 23-24, 2015

The Tigers played their second of two 2-game sets to open up the post-interleague schedule. This time, they traveled to the “Hokuriku” region to play a couple of true road games: the first in Nagano, the second in Toyama. With just 0.5 games separating them from the Giants for the league lead, but also with…

Mini-Series Recap – June 20-21, 2015

Mini-Series Recap – June 20-21, 2015

“Forget interleague play. Move on and play better,” they said. Despite the harsh words spoken by coaches, players and fans alike, the Tigers finished the mini-season with a 10-8 record, good for best among Central League teams, and putting them close enough to the top of the CL standings despite being 2 games over par…

Book Review – Slugging it Out in Japan

Book Review – Slugging it Out in Japan

To purchase and read this book, I had to put away my dislike of the Yomiuri Giants. After all, the subject and co-author starred for them during the most interesting years of my Hanshin Tigers’ history. He was a perfect foil to then-star Tiger Randy Bass, who enamored the fanatics at Koshien from the time he arrived in…

By the Numbers: Interleague & Beyond

By the Numbers: Interleague & Beyond

Let’s look back on the past 3 weeks, in which we played against the six Pacific League teams. We’ll go through the numbers, starting with… 0 – The number of runs allowed in 24 innings pitched by Randy Messenger. He shut out the Saitama Seibu Lions for 7 innings, then the Nippon Ham Fighters for 8,…