Rare is the day that the Hanshin Tigers baseball game is not broadcast on a local TV station. Almost as rare is the day that a game will be broadcast in its entirety. Perhaps this is because of the early start times (6:00pm, which I suppose is when the news is supposed to be on),…
Hanshin’s momentum heading back home was at an all-time low. A frustrating loss on Saturday was followed by an embarrassing one on Sunday, and the team needed to win quickly and often if they were to keep their fan base excited for the season to come. This series was not without its moments. Fortunately, many…
Last night I had the joy of watching the game with my good buddy Jimbo. Before and after the game, we hung out with Aaron and his wife. We created this little post-game report. Hope you enjoy it! Be sure to check out previous Vodcasts: with WhizOh, with Scott, with Zorny. You could be the…
“Balentien and Coach Yano have been ejected from the game.” What??? How do a big Dutchman and a little Japanese middle-aged man get tangled up, when it was lanky Shintaro Fujinami who threw one a little too close to Kazuhiro Hatakeyama’s head? It was the top of the fifth inning, no outs and a man…
T-Ray talks Hanshin news, recaps the weekend season-opening series against the Hiroshima Carp, chooses his player of the week, and talks about how much patience manager Tomoaki Kanemoto needs with his young players. What’s your take on playing time for slumping players? Send us an e-mail (thehanshintigers@gmail.com) with your opinion. Closing song – Hanshin Tigers – Sim…
The new team slogan for this year is 挑む Tigers Change. 挑む (Idomu) can be translated as “challenge” or “defy” or “dare to try”. After the opening series in Hiroshima, all the Hanshin Tigers seem ready to challenge is the record for most errors in a season. What has changed? The defense has certainly not…
Photos courtesy of Tim Herr Kris Johnson won the Sawamura Award last year and gave up just 7 earned runs to the Hanshin Tigers all season. (He did even better against the Dragons and Giants, but let’s leave that aside for now.) The defending champion Hiroshima Carp looked to start their season with a triumphant…
T-Ray invites 9 guests to the show to give their Central League final standings predictions. T-Ray also gives predictions about which player will lead the team in each big category. Who do you have leading the Tigers in batting average, home runs, runs batted in, stolen bases, wins, earned run average, and saves? Send us…
T-Ray presents you the past week of preseason action, and talks about who should make the Opening Day 28-man roster. He also presents three possible hitting orders, including one for when injured players come back. What’s your ideal batting order look like? Send us an e-mail (thehanshintigers@gmail.com) with your opinion. Also, in preparation for Episode…
Over the years, Hanshin has been known as a big spending baseball club. This is true to an extent, with the team consistently ranking in the top half of the salary rankings. It looks like this coming season, the team will rank #3, well behind the top two clubs, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Yomiuri Giants….