Two weekends ago, when the 2021 season began, Hanshin Tigers fans across the globe were elated when the team left the Tokyo region with three straight wins. They were facing the defending cellar-dwellers at that time. This time, they faced the current basement residents in the Yokohama DeNA Baystars. Different team, same result: one tight…
Anyone who has been a Hanshin Tigers fan in recent years knows that Yokohama Stadium is like our home away from home. (In the past five seasons, the Baystars were 170W 110L = .607 at home against the other 10 NPB teams, but just 18W 39L = .315 against Hanshin.) The trend continued on Friday…
Last season, the Tigers not only started the year 2-10, they also dropped their first three against the Yomiuri Giants. Two of them were not even close. Enter 2021, and the Giants not only have Sugano on the DL, but they have used Togo over the weekend and also got hit with a Covid cluster,…
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…
Last year, Covid-19 only permitted me to attend one baseball game. This year, I got a quick start to matching that number, as I headed out to Hanshin Koshien Stadium in the preseason to catch the Tigers-Lions battle-for-feline-supremacy match (Part II). It was a cloudy, cool Saturday afternoon, and Koyo Aoyagi was on the mound…
Tora (虎) = Tiger Kichi (キチ) = short for kichigai (気違い) = lunatic We are… Episode 009: H-TEN Awards 2020 Here we are at the end of a shortened (but extra-long) 2020 regular season, my man. The Tigers finished 7 games over .500 (60-53-7), which after the disaster 2-10 start, is not bad. We actually…
Host T-Ray flies solo this time around. After sharing the latest team news, he recaps games 31-43 of the regular season, chooses a pitcher & hitter of the month for July, digs into Yano’s decision-making skills, and talks about the vast gap between Yusuke Ohyama’s good and bad spells. Feel free to share your thoughts…
Tora (虎) = Tiger Kichi (キチ) = short for kichigai (気違い) = lunatic We are… Episode 005: Pack it in or Keep Hoping? Last time we talked, this team was on the rise. I think their record was 6-11 or 7-11 after their horrendous 2-10 start. After flying as high as 16-14-1, the team is…
Sources: Daily Sports (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) The Hanshin Tigers returned to the field on Wednesday after nearly three weeks of inactivity. Workouts have been staggered and limited to fewer players than usual. After having three players test positive for COVID-19 at the end of March (off the field), extra precautionary measures are being…
For the past seven days, it has been in theatres near you (if you live in Japan). And at long last, H-TEN took it in on this day. There were around 30 people in a 200-seat cinema, which I suppose should be expected for a Thursday matinee. Anyhow, let’s get down to business. There are…