Source: Nikkan / Sponichi NPB announced on Friday that the Hanshin Tigers reached an agreement to send outfielder Masahiro Nakatani to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in exchange for right-handed pitcher Akira Niho. This trade makes sense to both teams, with Hanshin feeling a lack of depth in the bullpen, and the Hawks needing bats to…
First of all, starter Minoru Iwata had to have been beside himself all night. The veteran pitcher has not received much run support in his starts over the years. Two or fewer runs per start has been the norm. That, combined with his struggles to get through five innings, had him winless in nearly two…
The Tigers got mauled badly by the Giants at the start of the week, and the team was to head into Hiroshima to face the three-time defending champs. They never do well at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium. But tonight was different. Ace comes up big, pinch hitter delivers winning homer.
There’s too much talent on this roster for the team to have finished 2018 in last. And now in 2019, a lot of guys have a lot to prove to coaches, fans, and themselves. Whose comeback means the most to the team? Read on…
As featured in the January 2019 edition of Monthly Tigers magazine, Ken Watanabe talks about what he thinks went wrong in 2018, why he has hope for 2019, and more. (Only the baseball parts have been translated here, though the whole interview is interesting.)
It’s been a long season, has it not? The truth of the matter is, the team looked pretty good during the first half of the “Road of Death” August schedule, while yours truly was away on vacation, but soon thereafter played absolutely pathetic baseball. I’m not sure “pathetic” covers it. From August 19 onwards, they…
You expect to win two, if not three when you’re playing against a bottom-feeding team like the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. The Tigers barely pulled it off – but hey, we’ll take the wins any way we get them. Game 58 – Kids Back in Kanemoto’s Good Books? Starting Pitchers: Shintaro Fujinami vs. Wataru Karashima…
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…
After a lot of rain and mediocrity during the week at Koshien, the Tigers took their act on the road for the final week of interleague play. First stop: Sapporo Dome to face the resurgent Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. Given the powerful bats they have, Hanshin would need theirs to come out and play, plus…
As always, I feel like I need to preface my criticisms with a clarification: I am not a baseball player, coach, manager, front office person. Never have been. Probably never will be. As such, my words do not hold a whole lot of weight. Let me also say that I was excited about Tomoaki Kanemoto‘s…