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): ジョー・ガンケル Date of Birth: December 30, 1991 Hometown: Boynton Beach, Florida University: West Chester University (Pennsylvania) Family Status: Married, one daughter Position: Pitcher Height: 196 cm (6’5″) Weight: 102 kg (225 lbs) Threw/Batted: Right/Right Wore #: 49 Originally drafted by: Boston Red Sox, 2013 (Round 18) Top Squad Debut on: June 24, 2020 @…
Hanshin Tigers fans all over the world are elated that at long last, the team has battled its way out of the hole that it dug for itself in the first 25 games of the season. Remember, once upon a time, this crew was 4-20-1 (.167) and was looking historically bad. All they’ve done since…
After a big series win against the Giants early in the week, the Tigers needed to come up big against the Dragons and their outstanding pitchers. Though scoring was at a premium, they did enough to take this series. It was one of those series that highlighted how outstanding our pitching staff is, with Koyo…
Oh, the ways we choose to lose. On Sunday, it was disappointing to not sweep the Baystars, but the team was just getting started with letdowns. Tuesday saw them create a huge chance (down two in the ninth, runners on first and second with no outs) but not make it. Wednesday saw them fight back…
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…
The Battle of the Cats always seems to be a good series, and I do not think I have yet seen one that was a sweep for either team. This one was no exception, as the Tigers started out slowly against an unknown (but effective) young pitcher. They turned the series around in a hurry,…
From Daily Sports Column (Japanese) / デイリースポーツオンラインの連載コラムから The Tigers’ woes continue in large part due to their lack of run support for the excellent pitching staff they have fielded this year. After their twenty-one-game streak of allowing 3 runs or fewer came to an end on May 20, they have had two games of giving…
No one said playing the 1st place team in the Pacific League, the Rakuten Eagles, would be easy. But with them entering this series on a 2-9 stretch, it should not have been this hard to put runs on the board. Yes, they have great starting pitching and their bullpen is pretty good. However, our…
Not all home runs are created equal, and the Tigers learned that the hard way. Despite Yoshio Itoi opening the score in the bottom of the second with his third home run of the year, Joe Gunkel once again served up a big blast to a big foreign bat, this time a three-run shot, and…