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Tigers Fall to Last – The Rant (#2)

Tigers Fall to Last – The Rant (#2)

Before you get too hung up on my words, keep in mind I am a fan, and I love the Tigers. Take it with a grain of salt, please. Last time I spoke harsh words about this club, they had just beaten the Yomiuri Giants 4-2 to extend their record to 5-2 and remain in…

Book Review – The Bass Diaries

Book Review – The Bass Diaries

Of all the foreigners who have played on the Hanshin Tigers baseball club, undoubtedly the most popular and accomplished is first baseman Randy Bass. He played for the team from 1983 to 1988, and won the league Triple Crown two consecutive seasons (1985 and 1986) while establishing the NPB record for highest batting average in…

Series Recap – May 4-6, 2015

Series Recap – May 4-6, 2015

The weather during Golden Week was perfect, and the Tigers had a golden opportunity to do two things: end their two-game losing streak and win over a lot more young fans. Prior to games, children were invited to make cardboard Tigers “kabuto” (warrior helmets), and players even joined them on Tuesday. Facing the fourth place…

An Interview with Gene Bacque

An Interview with Gene Bacque

A couple of weeks ago, I was able to chat on FaceTime with Tigers’ legend Gene Bacque. As a rookie Tigers’ fan, I only found out about Mr. Bacque by accident when I was researching the history of the Eiji Sawamura Award. A few Google searches later I found a way to contact him, and we have…

Foreigners Coming Through!

Foreigners Coming Through!

At one point a few weeks ago, there were lots of complaints about our fabulous four. These men all won individual awards last season but were off to pretty slow, uninspired starts, it seemed. Randy Messenger was 1-3 with a 5.63 ERA to start the year. What does he do? Just pitch 7 innings of…

Miniseries Recap – April 25-26, 2015

Miniseries Recap – April 25-26, 2015

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness…” — A Tale of Two Cities How…

Translation – Why Hanshin Can’t Bench Murton

Translation – Why Hanshin Can’t Bench Murton

The original article can be found here 元の記事はこちら Matt Murton’s recent slump could no longer be tolerated. As he had gone 20 straight at-bats without a hit, team management finally bumped him down in the batting order on the 22nd (against DeNA) to the sixth spot. Batting sixth for the first time since Opening Day…

Miniseries Recap – April 21-22, 2015

Miniseries Recap – April 21-22, 2015

This week features two short two-game series split by two days off in the middle The Tigers are already half done their week, as they visited Yokohama to face the slumping Baystars. Let’s end all suspense and reveal the scores. Yesterday’s game extended the home team’s losing streak to 7, with the Tigers winning 5-3….

Messenger, According to Andoh & Fujinami

Messenger, According to Andoh & Fujinami

The original Japanese article was in the April “Monthly Tigers” Magazine. Let’s Ask His Teammates! Pitcher Yuya Andoh Q. What is Messenger really like? Just what you see. He’s really cheerful. Q. Fill in the blank. “Surprisingly, Messenger is actually ______.” Hmmm… there is nothing really surprising about him (laughs). Q. What is it about…