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Spring Training 2017 – 2nd Cool* News

Spring Training 2017 – 2nd Cool* News

* The Japanese use the word クール (from the French cours = course / installment / season) to divide the spring training sessions into parts. But since クール is usually used to mean “cool” I have turned it into a cool headline. Hope you’re クール with that! Happy National Foundation Day, everyone! Yesterday was a day off for…

Takayama Wins Rookie of the Year; Other Awards

Hanshin Tigers 2015 Round 1 draft pick Shun Takayama (OF) has won the Central League Rookie of the Year Award. He received 220 out of a possible 269 points and becomes the first Tiger to win the prize since 2007, when pitcher Keiji Uezono took it home. He becomes the ninth Tiger in club history…

vs. Giants – Sept 30-Oct 1 – Episode 143: A New Hope

Nothing is on the line anymore, with the exception of a few records and perhaps a leg up on the competition for playing time next season. Maybe for some, a strong performance in these final few games is a plea for one more contract, one more season. Either way, the 5-game winning streak the Tigers…

@ Dragons – August 30-31 – Losing Streak Reaches 5

A three-game sweep at the hands of the then-fifth place Swallows pushed the Tigers down a spot in the standings, and the dream of reaching the playoffs seemed less likely to come true. A two-game stint in Nagoya with the team’s two best pitchers slated to start should have been the remedy to the team’s…

vs. Dragons – August 12-14 – Cruising at Kyocera

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…