* If you’ve read the reports for the 1st Cool, the 2nd Cool, or the 3rd Cool, you know this already. For those of you who are new to H-TEN… The Japanese use the word クール (from the French cours = course / installment / season) to divide the spring training sessions into parts. But since…
* The Japanese use the word クール (from the French cours = course / installment / season) to divide the spring training sessions into parts. But since クール is usually used to mean “cool” I have turned it into a cool headline. Are you クール with my decision? Happy Super Bowl Sunday, Hanshin Tigers fans! May…
Hanshin’s slogan for the 2016 season was 超変革 (chohenkaku) – ultra reform. The idea was that the team’s attitude and atmosphere under manager Tomoaki Kanemoto would change. Gone would be the old way of thinking, of practicing, of reflecting on games won and lost. In would be a new work ethic. Practice extremely hard but…
Hanshin Tigers 2015 Round 1 draft pick Shun Takayama (OF) has won the Central League Rookie of the Year Award. He received 220 out of a possible 269 points and becomes the first Tiger to win the prize since 2007, when pitcher Keiji Uezono took it home. He becomes the ninth Tiger in club history…
Nothing is on the line anymore, with the exception of a few records and perhaps a leg up on the competition for playing time next season. Maybe for some, a strong performance in these final few games is a plea for one more contract, one more season. Either way, the 5-game winning streak the Tigers…
The Hanshin Tigers have found too many weird ways to lose too many games this season. Even against these Yakult Swallows, success has been fleeting and hard losses have become the norm. Heading into this, the third-to-last game of the season, the Tigers were 11-12-1 against the defending Central League pennant winners. This one would…
This team simply can’t beat the Carp. But even more than that, they can’t seem to figure out the 2016 CL champ’s ace, Kris Johnson. In his two seasons in NPB, the Tigers have never hung him with a loss. The fate of both teams has already been decided but still, a win against the…
You’ve already heard it, right? The Tigers have been eliminated from the playoff race. They are winless at home against the Giants this year. The only thing left to cheer for is rookie Shun Takayama breaking club (and league?) records. Still, baseball goes on until the end of September, even for teams out of contention….
Every loss stings a little. And with the season winding down and the pennant already decided, the only thing left was to see if the Tigers could sweep this one and keep the Grim Reaper waiting around a little while longer. The pounding on the door was in fact the angel of death. Game 134…
There’s no decorating this or making excuses of any sort. The Hanshin Tigers have been utterly dominated by the Hiroshima Carp this year. After a decent 4-4 start in the season series, the Tigers lost 9 straight and have since limped to a 6-17 record against the Central League champs heading into this one. Game…