With the Giants winning earlier in the day, the Tigers needed a W to stay at the top of the standings. Starter Akira Niho did not get things off to a very good start with a couple of walks and an RBI hit… but he settled in, and the bats took over from the second…
If you read the last column, you know that I was a driver for a certain media outlet during these Tokyo Olympics. Well, honestly, the job itself was pretty boring, even disappointing, for me. Some of my fellow drivers took media crews (and even players) to venues and had some pretty fun experiences, even getting…
The Hanshin Tigers were slumping when we hit the all-star break, and everyone agreed that the month off would do them some good. If it did, the results did not show any of those benefits. Sure, baseball is a game of inches, and the near-double play in the top of the first meant 4 runs…
Based on the Daily Sports Column (Japanese) / トレバーの虎場（デイリースポーツ）から “You’d be perfect for the job. Why don’t you look into it?” My wife’s friend not only made the suggestion but also set me up with an interview to be a driver for a certain media outlet during the Tokyo 2020 (2021?) Olympics. Being the laid-back…
When I signed up to be a member of SABR (Society of American Baseball Research), one of the first perks that I dug into was the free books and resources section. This one jumped out at me because I not only love baseball (and particularly MLB during the “golden years” for the two Canadian franchises)…
Hosts T-Ray and Sanjay discuss the latest team news and recap the past 13 games of Tigers baseball. Then they go to great lengths to give an 84-game report card to every main position player and pitcher, plus the team manager. Here’s a link to a good video that explains the sign-stealing controversy from July…
This book came recommended to me by a few people, and while I had had an interest in reading it for a good three years or so, it was not until recently that I got my hands on it and cracked it open. The first few chapters were completely mesmerizing for me, and I learned…
The Tigers have been bad at home of late. I mean, really bad. The last time they won a three-game series at Koshien was May 11-13 against the Dragons, and that was due in part to a rainout. They got swept by the Baystars three weeks ago at home, and wanted so badly to end…
What did Hanshin do as a follow-up act to yesterday’s dramatic, come-from-behind, escape from the jaws of death landmark of a game? They sure didn’t build on the momentum, as the Baystars scored three early runs against Raul Alcantara and tacked on another in the third inning before he was chased. Meanwhile, the batters looked…
Koyo Aoyagi lowered his ERA even further, hurling 7 innings of one (earned) run ball. Still, he seemed destined to be the second straight hard-luck loser for the Tigers. After all, it took the Tigers 26 outs to finally come to life. Held off the board for 8 ⅔ innings, and giving up three runs…