Happy New Year to everyone out there. We are slowly but surely creeping closer to the start of spring training, which means it is time to catch everyone up to speed on roster movements that have taken place between the last playoff game of 2022 and the beginning of official team workouts in 2023! Here…
Name (Japanese): ラウル・アルカンタラ Date of Birth: December 4, 1992 Hometown: Barahona, Dominican Republic High School: Liceo Emabal Anguel (?) Family Status: Married, 3 sons Height: 193 cm (6’4″) Weight: 100 kg (220 lbs) Throws/Bats: Right/Right Position: Pitcher Wore #: 44 Originally signed by: Boston Red Sox, 2009 MLB Experience with: Oakland Athletics (2016-17) KBO Teams: KT…
After two straight shutout losses in Fukuoka, it wasn’t hard to imagine this team having troubles scoring against the defending Sawamura Award (Yamamoto) and Rookie of the Year (Miyagi) winners over the weekend. However, they were up to the task, taking the opener comfortably while riding Yusuke Ohyama and his hot bat. They scrapped for…
It was a long first 17 games, was it not? Surely the 1-15-1 start wore you out as much as it did me. Heading into the weekend against the first-place Giants, I was worried we might be 1-18-1 come Easter. But the team is rising to life, thanks to another fine pitching performance from a…
This one looked pretty bad through the top of the fourth, as starter Shintaro Fujinami struggled with his command and the Carp bats took full advantage. A Yusuke Ohyama home run started the comeback and the batters got to Carp starter Ohsera in the middle innings. Unfortunately, they were not able to capitalize on their…
If you are a new fan and are not particularly familiar with the team, let this be your introduction! We are going to break down the entire roster for you very briefly so you can get a feel for who is whom, what they have done, and what they might do in 2022 and beyond….
Minoru Iwata had a closing ceremony after this game ended, as the Hanshin Tigers and their fans celebrated a wonderful 16-year career. He did not make a mound appearance during the game itself, but he could have… the team played with very little urgency. Only one base runner advanced past first base, and that was…
Yuki Nishi really did not have his best stuff tonight. He did not have his health, either, it seems. After giving up two runs and recording only five outs, he left the game and was replaced by Kosuke Baba. Then Masashi Itoh. Then Raul Alcantara. All the relievers did a good job, allowing just one…
Not much to say. Just look at the scorecard. Chances aplenty, runs were few. Relievers once again porous. And just for good measure, the same ump who screwed over Yoshio Itoi on a bad check-swing call on Friday did the opposite tonight: Murakami did not check his swing nearly as well as Itoi did, but…
Every game is a must-win, and every single play by every single player is important. The Tigers got just enough out of their hitters (five hits and two runs), and despite a couple of defensive miscues, also got some fine defense when needed. Holding onto a 2-1 lead through the top of the seventh, they…