enatsu Archives - Hanshin Tigers English News

September 14, 2019

Messenger to Retire at Season’s End

So long, Big Mess! Hanshin announced on the 13th that pitcher Randy Messenger (38) would be retiring at the end of this season. The man himself made the request with the team that same day, and they accepted. He struggled this season, his 10th in Japan, starting 13 games and winning three, losing seven and posting a 4.69 ERA. He injured his right shoulder in July and was on the farm but could not get desirable results in his starts during the past month, and made the decision to end his career. The plan is to have a press conference in the days to come.

February 17, 2019

Infamous Moment #7 – Pitcher KO’s Manager

Many of you are probably aware of the fact that the Hanshin Tigers have a long history of scandal and notoriety. Here’s a look at a pitcher’s season-long grudge ending with a stiff jab to his manager’s face.

February 15, 2019

Infamous Moment #8 – Star Told of Trade at 2 am

Many of you are probably aware of the fact that the Hanshin Tigers have a long history of scandal and notoriety. In the latest installment in our top 10 infamous moments, we look at the story of Koichi Tabuchi’s untimely trade.

February 12, 2019

Infamous Moment #9 – Riot Scares Away Giants

Many of you are probably aware of the fact that the Hanshin Tigers have a long history of scandal and notoriety. During the weeks before the upcoming season, we will look at ten of the most interesting ones. We continue here with one that was caused by the rowdy fans.

September 18, 2018

Enatsu: A Lefty’s Pride

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…

July 26, 2018

Book Review Incoming!

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…

March 7, 2018

Minoru Murayama: Fiery Ace

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…

February 1, 2018

Great Tiger Moments #9 – Enatsu Wins by Himself

< Previous Next > Date: August 30, 1973 As the season was heading into its final month and the Tigers fighting to catch the Yomiuri Giants (who had won 8 straight Nippon Series at this point), the Tigers faced the Chunichi Dragons at Koshien Stadium. Young ace Yutaka Enatsu (25) was on the mound, and…

July 22, 2017

Hanshin Tigers: 1965-1978

In a way, the book title says it all – this is a complete summary of the Hanshin Tigers’ 1965 through 1978 seasons. But actually, it starts the tale in the fall of 1958, when the team signed the best pitcher in its history – Minoru Murayama. After brief recaps of the first seasons in…

April 22, 2017

Katsuya Nomura – Thinking Baseball

Having read only one Katsuya Nomura book prior to this one (and not liking it much), I picked this one up only because of the man’s reputation as a great thinking player and manager. His obnoxious octogenarian rants, I can do without. Well, this book contains a mix of wisdom, history, and crusty criticisms, but…