Fans voted on their top 10 news-making events of the year. Here they are. Video links have all been removed because the videos have been taken down from YouTube. #10 (tie): The Tiger Girls; Kubota of “JFK” Announces Retirement (22 votes) #9: Manager Yutaka Wada has his contract extended (33 votes) #8: Takahiro Arai leaves the club,…
There has not yet been much offseason action as far as roster moves, but here are some of the things going on with different players: Long-time Tiger Takahiro Arai has left the organization and returned to the Hiroshima Carp, where he began his career. He played 7 years with the Tigers, his best coming in 2010…
No one likes wallowing in the gloom of a postseason loss. For that reason, I will not dwell too much on the losses themselves, or the potential reality of losing Takashi Toritani to Major League Baseball. Instead, I will look at three striking numbers/factors that brought about Hanshin’s demise quickly in games 2-5. Setting Game…
Usually, Tsuyoshi Nishioka leaves his Facebook page up to someone else, but tonight he posted a message to the fans. Here is the English translation of it: Thank you for cheering all year! I’m so sorry I was not able to return the favor at the very end. The year started with an injury,…
The heartbreak continues for Hanshin Tigers fans. A strong showing against the Yomiuri Giants and a brilliantly played Game 1 had fans hoping for the team’s first Nippon Series title since 1985. Instead, the SoftBank Hawks (particularly their pitching) silenced the Tigers and their fans, winning four straight while only allowing 4 runs in 37…
As most of you already know, the Nippon Series is tied 1-1 and is heading to Fukuoka for three games, where the Hawks will host the Tigers in the confines of YafuOku Dome. With the Pacific League team hosting, the rules change slightly as well. Instead of the pitcher getting an at-bat, each team designates…
In October, everything has been coming up Tigers. They won their last game of the regular season on October 1, watched the Carp hand second place to them by losing their final game, won their best-of-3 against those same Carp despite scoring just one run in 21 innings, and then swept the Giants in their…
History was made at Koshien Stadium tonight. For the first time ever, two foreigners were named starting pitchers of Game 1 of the Nippon Series. This one was supposed to be a low-scoring battle between Randy Messenger and Jason Standridge. Both had great seasons, and Standridge even shut out the Tigers at Koshien earlier this…
Scheduled Games & Possible Starters: GAME 1: Saturday, October 25, 6:15 pm (Koshien Stadium): Randy Messenger (13-10) vs. Jason Standridge (11-8) GAME 2: Sunday, October 26, 6:15 pm (Koshien Stadium): Minoru Iwata (9-8) vs. Kenji Ohtonari (3-1) GAME 3: Tuesday, October 28, 6:30 pm (YafuOku Dome): Shintaro Fujinami (10-7) vs. Shota Takeda (3-3) GAME 4: Wednesday, October 29, 6:30 pm…