Some aspects of Game 2 were quite similar to Game 1. An early deficit. Clawing back from the jaws of defeat. Unfortunately, lightning does not strike the same place twice – at least not on back-to-back days.
When your best pitcher gets tagged for five straight hits to open the game, and you find yourself down six runs with just a few innings to go, it’s easy to just pack it in and hope for better fortunes tomorrow. Fans who did just this are kicking themselves now, because they gave up on…
Here’s a look at my Hanshin calendar, which highlights the birthdays of Hanshin players past and present, as well as the game schedule for the this month of baseball. Much of the schedule is at Koshien Stadium or in Hiroshima – neither of which has been a friendly playing environment for the Tigers this year….
The Hanshin Tigers received great news on Monday, as ninth year import pitcher Randy Messenger was named to his first ever all-star team. He was also joined by Kento Itohara (first time) and Yuta Iwasada (second time). Yoshio Itoi was voted in by the players. (Unfortunately, Itoi has been diagnosed with a broken bone in…
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows had an incredible interleague mini-season. In fact, they became just the second Central League team to finish with a better record than all PL teams. They looked to parlay that momentum into a spot near the top of the CL standings, but if the Tigers have their way, it will be…
Life as a Tigers fan had been pretty depressing for much of June. Surprisingly, one of the few teams we’ve had success against this season is the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. Thanks to them (really, thanks to some untimely errors) we were able to put that 5-game losing streak behind us. SWEEP! Game 66: Brought to…
I hated Wadaball. So did most of you. And when his time at the helm ended in October 2015, and Tomoaki Kanemoto took over the reins, there was a lot of excitement in Tigerland. Things were going to be different, at last! Aniki’s team would be faster and (much) stronger than the yawn-inducing lineup Yutaka…
Today on the farm, Yuta Iwasada pitched seven shutout innings of five-hit ball, doing his part in keeping the game close on the road against the little Carp. In the ninth inning, Fumiya Hojoh hit a one-out double, and Yutaro Itayama brought him home on a triple. He eventually found his way home on a…
Let’s remember that it’s not about who wins and who loses. Unless we win. Then we can talk about how we’re going to be the champs this year. Anyhow… March 6: Starting pitcher Shintaro Fujinami looked like a completely different man. He struck out the first and third batters, then the fifth and sixth, then…
Camp is over! The team packed up late this morning and are on their way back to mainland. Exhibition season up here starts on March 3 (in Fukuoka, where they’re selling “open seating” all-you-can-eat tickets for ¥2500) and runs through the 25th. Looking forward to see how the field and mound start to take shape!…