Tsuyoshi Nishioka – Zenryoku Shisso- (Sprint) It seems odd for an athlete to write an autobiography mid-career. Can he really have anything of worth to say before his legacy has been established? Is he that full of himself, that he thinks people will want to read his ramblings on various topics? Is there wisdom in his…
I’ve decided to go ahead and post this one without any requests for it. I love seeing what the Japanese data analysts have to say! This one comes with a few comments from yours truly as well. I’m going to limit it to the “typical top 6” batters in the order from last season. With…
As a numbers guy, statistics fascinate me to no end. The January “Monthly Tigers” Magazine – it sells at bookstores for ¥410) had a piece on the Tigers’ main pitchers and their numbers in 2014. Some interesting things came out of them and I thought I would share. It’s too much to share it all,…
The first edition of the 2015 magazine is now in the hands of fan club members. Over 90% of its content is devoted to ticket purchase information (who knew it was this complicated!) but the first few pages feature a nice interview with young catcher Ryutaro Umeno and young pitcher Ryoma Matsuda. Here is my…
Guess who just got back today? Those wild-eyed boys that had been away… Thin Lizzy had a smash hit in 1976 with their celebration of reunification. The Hanshin Tigers were hoping for something similar these past two days but first baseman Mauro Gomez experienced a smash of his own. Scheduled to leave his home country of…
Spring Training begins on February 1st in Ginoza, Okinawa and finishes on the 25th. The Tigers have announced the 38 players who will take part in this camp. Other players, either of their own volition or club orders, will train with the minor league affiliate team in Aki City, Kochi. Here are the 38: Pitchers: Daiki…
The 2009 season was not a good one for the Hanshin Tigers. They did not make the playoffs, finishing 4th in the Central League with a 67-73-4 record. For one magical night, though, fans rejoiced as though the team had won it all. At Koshien Stadium on April 30, 2009, the team was facing the…
Sanspo is reporting that Toritani has signed a monster contract (for Japan) with the Tigers: a 5-year deal worth ¥2-billion (around US$16.9 million). This means he will be with the organization at least through his 38th birthday, and likely for the remainder of his career. Management, among others, look forward to being able to retire…
It appears all the hubbub about Takashi Toritani heading to the major leagues was for naught. Yahoo News (among others) reports that Toritani contacted the club late last night saying he has given up on the long negotiations with the Blue Jays and has decided to come back to the Hanshin Tigers for 2015 and…