Hey everyone. This depth chart is especially for those who are new to the Hanshin Tigers, or are wondering what the team looks like this year before the season starts. I’m hoping to update this and post a new one around the all-star break. There have been a few changes since last season, such as…
< Previous Next > Date: October 13, 2013 Shinjiro Hiyama had a long, productive career with the Tigers. He played 22 seasons, all with Hanshin, and finished 4th all-time in games played (1959), 9th in home runs (159) and 9th in runs batted in (707). This in spite of being used primarily as a pinch…
Hey everyone. Just thought you might want a concise look at all that has been going on as far as roster moves in the past week or so. The season starts in 10 days, and management is starting to solidify the roster for Opening Day. Who’s been brought up? Who’s been sent down? Which positions…
March 16: Stomping on the Eagles in Shizuoka This game started quite slowly, as the two aces showed off their repertoires before helpless bats. Our guys finally got to Takahiro Norimoto in the fifth, when Kento Itohara smacked a 2-run double to the left field corner. T 2-0 E Randy Messenger is just getting warmed…
< Previous Next > Date: September 15, 2003 When you go 17 straight seasons without even contending for the pennant, seasons like this seem surreal. These Tigers won at least 15 games in each of the first four months of the season, and became the fastest team ever to reach 70 wins in a…
On March 14, the Hanshin Tigers announced that they were trading left-handed pitcher Daiki Enokida (31) to the Saitama Seibu Lions for right-hander Yosuke Okamoto (32). Our first-round draft pick in 2010 just never panned out. He showed promise in his first two seasons, coming in from the bullpen 110 times and posting a solid…
March 13: Starter Shintaro Fujinami didn’t look like himself. Or should I say, he looked a little too much like his 2017 self. Control was lacking, pace was slow, and it all fell apart in the fourth inning. (Prior to that, he played with fire in the first three innings.) In the 4th, it was…
Most of us are aware of the fact that Takashi Toritani reached the 2000 career hit mark last September. He became just the second homegrown talent in club history (after Taira Fujita) to reach the mark while still a member of the club. Other guys have done it in a Tigers uniform, but they started their…
Yesterday was somewhat solemn, in that both teams were playing in memory of their deceased ex-manager (and in the Dragons’ case, pitcher), Senichi Hoshino. Today was also a somber day for Japan: 7 years ago, a terrible disaster (earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown) struck the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan. But at least for Hanshin fans,…
March 9: Let’s just say that Randy Messenger didn’t get off on the right foot. The first inning saw him give up 5 hits and 4 runs. He said after the game that it was his first time facing live hitting this year, and that a lot of his pitches were right over the plate…