Unfortunately, it neither rained nor poured at Koshien Stadium on this day. It would have helped if the game had been called before the fifth inning because at no point during these nine innings did it look like our guys were going to pull off the win. Masashi Itoh walked three and plunked one in…
We were watching our child learning to ride a bicycle today. Fall off, scrape a knee, pick him back up, dust him off, encourage him to keep trying – he’ll get it right next time. Repeat the process enough, and the kid will eventually figure it out, right? Well, today, the opportunities could have been…
Now, I’m not going to excuse this game away as bad luck for the Tigers. You don’t win when you can’t hit in scoring situations. But a dribbler of a single by their pitcher extended an inning that coulda-shoulda-woulda-but-didn’t end after just one run. Nope, and another weak infield single broke the inning wide open….
The first two games of this series were simply too good to be true. Our hitters were mercilessly pounding the Giants pitchers, and our pitchers were holding off their big bats. In this one, the tides turned, though our pitching was still quite strong. But those bats… most of the game looked like fielding practice…
As a fan, it is always a nervous proposition seeing a rookie pitcher starting against the orangemen. Whether they are injury- (or corona-) plagued or not, they still have a certain swagger against our men, which often turns them into little boys. On this night, though, the freshman kept his composure despite having a man…
The 2021 season started on time, and with excitement at an all-time high, the Hanshin Tigers took to Meiji Jingu Stadium to square off against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. Unlike last year’s opener, our ace pitcher was neither spectacular, nor did he do much of anything at the plate. But it did not matter because…
The new draft picks got their new uniforms today. Below is the list of new numbers given out, the most recent and most famous players to have worn the number, and comments from the players. 1. Teruaki Sato – IF/OF #8 — Kosuke Fukudome (2013-20); Kazuhiro Yamauchi (1964-67) “I’m glad to be part of a…
Unlike most teams, Hanshin manager Akihiro Yano did not divulge the team’s direction as to which player they would enter the sweepstakes for in Round 1 of the draft, which took place on Monday, October 26 in Tokyo (but mainly via online meetings). The team has not yet finished cutting unneeded players, but typically by…
We’re most of the way through this long meal called Spring Training. The fifth course is now in the books, and on this, Wilin Rosario‘s 29th birthday, we bring you the news of the past 3 days. First, Rosario took some time during batting practice to teach struggling outfielder Taiga Egoshi about hitting. We can…
It’s another precious day off for our heroes on the diamond, so let’s look back on the last few days of spring training action! First, the “news”: Newly acquired relief pitcher Diego Moreno looked good pitching in the bullpen and in live batting practice. Some have called him a “skinny Mateo” – he uses the…