From T-Ray’s Daily Sports Column (Japanese) / トレバーの虎場（デイリースポーツ）から I can’t remember the exact day it dawned on me that I would never be a professional athlete, but I clearly recall my ambitions changing very quickly from athletic to journalistic. Like, if I could not be in that locker room celebrating a Stanley Cup with my…
T-Ray and Zorny chatted about our favorites games of a memorable year. We each chose our own top 10 and then unveiled them one by one. This is the first part of the series: #10-6.
Though Pierce Johnson came to Hanshin to very little fanfare, his outstanding season in the bullpen have fans lamenting his too-quick departure back to America. Read all about him here.
Pierce Johnson is expected to be a part of the winning formula with the Hanshin Tigers this season. The righty, who was drafted in the first round by the Chicago Cubs in 2012, has yet to surrender a single run in exhibition play, exceeding everyone’s expectations. Both he and his wife are Japanophiles, and are enjoying their experience in Japan so far. PJ said he is looking forward to seeing the cherry blossoms in full bloom. Here’s what else we learned about him.
If you’re a normal, sane person, you’ve been hibernating all winter. The snow is not yet melting and the ground has yet to thaw. Still, baseball is just around the corner, and it’s time to catch you up on the offseason acquisitions.
Pierce Johnson and Onelki Garcia had press conferences at team headquarters in Nishinomiya on the 28th. Here is a translation of the Q & A session after they were introduced.
Hanshin has added a couple of arms to the pitching staff in the past few days, alleviating some of the worries that they were being left behind this offseason.
In a nutshell our problem is this: the Hanshin Tigers can’t beat other teams’ best pitchers. The chart below lists the Central League’s ten best qualified (enough innings played to win individual awards) pitchers by ERA. Keep in mind this chart does not look at our record in games in which their aces got no-decisions. Pitcher…