No franchise should be proud of the fact that it has just one Japan Series championship in 69 years. And yet, you won’t find a baseball team prouder of its win than the Hanshin Tigers. But is that a testament to the lameness of the franchise, or is there more to it than that? The…
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…
When this book popped up on my radar, I knew I would be among the first to read it and review it, at least among the ex-pat population. I mean, who wouldn’t want to get some insight into the mind of one of Randy Messenger, Hanshin’s most beloved import players ever? My one hesitation was…
It has been a really busy last three months, and a long time since I have posted a book review of any sort! I have “been reading” a book by Yutaka Enatsu for ages… but it’s going to have to be put on hold even longer because this arrived in the mail yesterday: Yes! Randy Messenger…
After reading through (what I later discovered to be) Dirk Hayhurst’s second book, I thought I would give this third one a try as well. I have yet to pick up the first. Anyhow, the blend of humor, insider anecdotes and introspection made Out of My League a hit in my books. I was hoping…
You’ve probably already seen my promotion of this book from last year‘s edition. Well, despite the sudden, sad passing of Wayne Graczyk (compiler of the book for 40+ years), the annual guide continues to be published. And the 2018 edition looks great! Complete with team schedules, players’ vitals, stadium information, last season’s standings, playoff results,…
We all know that baseball is a pretty easy sport. I mean, come on… who couldn’t hit a 95 mph fastball, given enough chances? And of course, managing a team would be pretty fun and not too challenging, either. I’ve done it tons of times from my couch, as I watched poor decision making resulting…
It seems like every year in recent years, another player is putting out memoirs or thoughts about baseball and life with the Hanshin Tigers. Nothing wrong with that, if in fact they have something worth saying. But often times, these guys haven’t truly accomplished anything significant in their careers. This one is different, though. For…
Imagine if you could transport yourself back to 2005 and have all your baseball questions answered. That’s what this book is – a trip back in time giving you an insight into some of the earlier years of sabermetrics – at least in the eyes of the common man. (Sabermetrics have been around much longer…
Most of you are probably unaware of this, but I have started taking a course. I am studying with Sports Management Worldwide (SMWW), learning more about scouting and managing in baseball. The course is already almost half over, but the workload is only getting heavier. But who wouldn’t want to have a lot of baseball-related…