Nearly a year ago, as the season had come to an end, I received a surprise parcel in the mail. Though the team had not yet made it official, everyone knew Matt Murton had played his final game for the Tigers. So it was with kind of mixed emotions that I opened the parcel and…
For some reason, the Hanshin Tigers have played relatively well at Kyocera Dome Osaka in recent years. It is definitely not as electric an atmosphere as Koshien Stadium, but for this series, which coincided with the Japanese obon holiday season, the house was packed and home field advantage could be felt. Still, when facing a…
Host T-Ray and co-host Jimbo talk in detail about the four games this past week (1 vs. Buffaloes, 3 @ Carp). We also choose our players of the week and predict the week to come (vs. DeNA; @ Chunichi). But the main feature is a (relatively) lengthy interview with import Matt Hague. Here’s a brief excerpt of the conversation (recorded…
After practically gift-wrapping the final game of the Lions series at home (bringing the Tigers record at Koshien this season to an atrocious 11-14-1), the Tigers hit the road for two straight series against two of the tougher Pacific League teams. The first of these would be held in Chiba against the Lotte Marines at…
Let us consider the case of two players on the Hanshin Tigers. Check the table below as you trek with me through some thoughts: GP AVG HR RBI PA AB R H 2B 3B Total Bases SB S SF BB HBP K SLG OBP Player A 59 .248 5 24 257 214 25 53 8…
We take two steps forward and one step back. One step forward and then two back. The Hanshin Tigers have been within a game of .500 since May 11 – an incredible stretch in which there has been no winning or losing streak longer than two games. After nine games on the road, the team came…
The series at Jingu left a sour taste in the mouths of Hanshin fans, and facing the Yomiuri Giants in Tokyo – where the Tigers won just 2 of 13 in 2015 – had the potential of either lifting our spirits or dashing our hopes heading into interleague play. As it turns out, it was…
There seem to be no favorites this year – except the BayStars. There seem to be no weaknesses this year – except the power hitting and the bullpen. There seems to be no preference between home and away games – except that our record at Koshien so far is a pedestrian 10-12-1. So as the…
Sunday’s loss tie left a bitter taste in the mouths of Hanshin fans. After all, a solid outing by Atsushi Nohmi was wasted in large part to poor fielding and uninspired hitting down the stretch. Coming home for six straight, the Tigers needed to win back their fans and bring their record at Koshien back…
One of the most frequently asked questions on the Facebook page is: “How’s Hague doing on the farm?” or “When is Hague coming back up?” This article should shed a little light on that, though the latter question can’t really be answered until we hear something in the press. Original article can be found here…