Yokohama BayStars manager Alex Ramirez said at the start of the season that he thought the Hanshin Tigers would be a tough opponent. Apparently he knew what he was saying. Hanshin came into this series winning 3 of 4 against last year’s feel-good story team. Both of the series featured a rainout on day 2…
If you want to read more about the Yakult Swallows, click here. There is definitely no lost love between these two teams. Last time the two faced off, a brawl ensued that will surely be talked about throughout the season, and will make highlight shows for years to come. Hanshin took that series after losing…
Yesterday, we had a look at the battle for playing time on the pitching staff. Today, we continue our look at the Tigers’ lineup and who can be expected to stand on the field and in the batter’s box at the start of 2017. In case you missed it, Fumihito Haraguchi has been given the…
* Check out the news from the 1st Cool, the 2nd Cool, the 3rd Cool, the 4th Cool or the 5th Cool if you want to look back on the month of February. In case you missed it, “cool” is not a correct transcription of the Japanese クール (which comes from the French cours = course / installment / season),…
* 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…
The Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants have a long, bitter rivalry, and every year the two clubs try to pump up the season’s matchups with colorful ads on which the words 伝統の一戦 (Legendary/Classic Series) appear. But last year the Tigers won just 2 of 13 at Tokyo Dome, and this year so far, they brought…
Five straight losses. Against teams that are beatable. Three at home, and two on the road with your best pitchers starting. Could it get any worse for the Tigers? The only good news was that they would host the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, who had a rough August and who have struggled against our Tigers. But…
A three-game sweep at the hands of the then-fifth place Swallows pushed the Tigers down a spot in the standings, and the dream of reaching the playoffs seemed less likely to come true. A two-game stint in Nagoya with the team’s two best pitchers slated to start should have been the remedy to the team’s…
For some reason, the Hanshin Tigers have played relatively well at Kyocera Dome Osaka in recent years. It is definitely not as electric an atmosphere as Koshien Stadium, but for this series, which coincided with the Japanese obon holiday season, the house was packed and home field advantage could be felt. Still, when facing a…
Going on a good run at home against teams with similar records was one thing. Taking that act on the road and beating the higher-ranked teams would be another. Could Hanshin continue its mini-run in Yokohama to start its annual long road trip? Game 100 – Tuesday 8/2: The bats started out extremely silent against…