Tsuyoshi Shinjo made the headlines daily last winter when he reached an agreement to become manager of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. This book was released toward the end of February 2022, before his first season as manager began. Surely at the time of “writing” the book (more on those quotation marks later), he had accepted…
Host T-Ray is joined by JD and Sanjay as they go over the preseason games, explain NPB’s cancellation of spectator-games for the rest of preseason, and then talk about who belongs in the starting order on Opening Day, plus, who belongs in the rotation, the bullpen, and on the bench. Finally, the annual Central League…
Baseball legend, ambassador, and one-time Hanshin Tigers manager Katsuya Nomura passed away on February 11 at the age of 84. The cause of death was listed as coronary artery disease. Nomura was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan, and played for the Nankai Hawks (based in Osaka at the time) for much of his career…
While not really a Bible of baseball know-how or biographies, it definitely gave me a fuller idea of who has shaped the game and how. Most importantly, it has added to my respect and appreciation for one of the most influential men in the history of baseball in Japan. Good instructional booklet for a wannabe like me.
As most of you know, the Hanshin Tigers experienced a long drought between 1986 and 2002. The team had just one 2nd place finish during that spell against 10 last place seasons. They became known as ダメ虎 (Dame Tora = Awful Tigers) and looked to be perennial losers until the end of time. Not only…
Having read only one Katsuya Nomura book prior to this one (and not liking it much), I picked this one up only because of the man’s reputation as a great thinking player and manager. His obnoxious octogenarian rants, I can do without. Well, this book contains a mix of wisdom, history, and crusty criticisms, but…
“Relationships deepen by repeatedly paying attention to not just the big things, but the small details as well. It was my job as ‘housewife’ to elevate the status of the ‘men of the house,’ the pitchers. I think I was able to do this because I always made it priority to think not of myself,…
Japanese Title: 阪神タイガースの黄金時代が永遠に来ない理由 – Hanshin Tigers no Ohgon Jidai ga Eien ni Konai Riyuu) Originally I thought this was a book written specifically about this problem, but a co-worker told me that it was actually a compilation of former great catcher and manager Katsuya Nomura’s newspaper columns. So while the book does address what the…