Heading into this series, the Hanshin Tigers had gone ten straight games scoring 2 or fewer runs (but going 4-4-2 in that stretch), setting a new club record. The Chunichi Dragons were flying high, scoring runs seemingly at will and sitting blissfully in first place. But that’s the thing about April baseball. One bad series…
The truth is, the Hanshin Tigers aren’t that good at Vantelin Dome. But an even greater truth is that in Akinobu Okada‘s six years as Tigers manager (2004-08, 23) they have a winning record in Nagoya four times. Whether that means he simply knows how to win in such environs, or it is just coincidence,…
Hosts T-Ray and Sanjay go over the latest team news, recap the preseason games from the first half of the month, and then listen to five guest contributors who share their thoughts on one of the other Central League teams. Follow Scott (https://chunichisoul.blogspot.com/), Heather (@ysbaseball2896), Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@YakyuCosmo), Brian (@RiouxBM), and Lucas (@lucasborjaNPB) on X…
Games 25-27 vs. Dragons: Late Inning Dramatics! #Hanshin #Tigers #阪神タイガース #HTEN #虎穴虎子 #ARE
In late February 2022, I was down in Okinawa exploring the spring training facilities of as many NPB teams as I could. My hotel was in Chatan, just a few minutes walk from the Chunichi Dragons camp. Because Covid restrictions were still in place, there were not too many people in attendance. At the top…
Hosts T-Ray and Sanjay discuss team news, the first six exhibition games, and what has gotten into manager Akihiro Yano and his players! Then, they analyze the other five Central League teams, which should help you make predictions for the annual H-TEN Central League standings prediction contest! Details in the pinned post on H-TEN’s website….
Hosts T-Ray and Sanjay discuss the latest team news and recap the past 9 games of Tigers baseball. Then they discuss what roster and strategic moves they would like to see the team make as the pennant race heats up. Also, here’s a short talk we did after we recorded the show! The topic: What…
Now, don’t get me wrong. You don’t win games in which you do not score. This is a universal truth in sports. So it is not entirely our starter Yuki Nishi’s fault that we lost. However, he has definitely looked like a shell of his former self ever since he got career win #99 over…
Yesterday’s loss left a bad taste in the mouths of many a Hanshin fan, and the scoreless inning streak looked like it might even stretch all the way to Sunday. All game, only two Tigers made it to first base safely, both on infield hits, through 24 outs. Fortunately, as they say, baseball is a…
What’s a fan? Why do we do what we do? What’s up with autograph seekers? These questions and more are addressed in the latest edition of T-Ray’s Daily Sports column.