On March 14, the Hanshin Tigers announced that they were trading left-handed pitcher Daiki Enokida (31) to the Saitama Seibu Lions for right-hander Yosuke Okamoto (32). Our first-round draft pick in 2010 just never panned out. He showed promise in his first two seasons, coming in from the bullpen 110 times and posting a solid…
March 13: Starter Shintaro Fujinami didn’t look like himself. Or should I say, he looked a little too much like his 2017 self. Control was lacking, pace was slow, and it all fell apart in the fourth inning. (Prior to that, he played with fire in the first three innings.) In the 4th, it was…
Most of us are aware of the fact that Takashi Toritani reached the 2000 career hit mark last September. He became just the second homegrown talent in club history (after Taira Fujita) to reach the mark while still a member of the club. Other guys have done it in a Tigers uniform, but they started their…
Yesterday was somewhat solemn, in that both teams were playing in memory of their deceased ex-manager (and in the Dragons’ case, pitcher), Senichi Hoshino. Today was also a somber day for Japan: 7 years ago, a terrible disaster (earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown) struck the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan. But at least for Hanshin fans,…
March 9: Let’s just say that Randy Messenger didn’t get off on the right foot. The first inning saw him give up 5 hits and 4 runs. He said after the game that it was his first time facing live hitting this year, and that a lot of his pitches were right over the plate…
< Previous Next > Date: November 2, 1985 The drought had gone on long enough. In fact, there were players on the Tigers roster who were still in diapers the last time the team had won a pennant in 1964. And this team had a lot of the right pieces to take the team…
Let’s remember that it’s not about who wins and who loses. Unless we win. Then we can talk about how we’re going to be the champs this year. Anyhow… March 6: Starting pitcher Shintaro Fujinami looked like a completely different man. He struck out the first and third batters, then the fifth and sixth, then…
It seems like every year in recent years, another player is putting out memoirs or thoughts about baseball and life with the Hanshin Tigers. Nothing wrong with that, if in fact they have something worth saying. But often times, these guys haven’t truly accomplished anything significant in their careers. This one is different, though. For…
Since it’s the preseason and these games mean precious little once the season has begun, we will keep things short and sweet. March 3: Starting pitcher Takumi Akiyama went 4 scoreless innings, scattering 3 hits (no more than one per inning) and striking out 4. Kyuji Fujikawa (37) threw the fifth and allowed 2 runs on…
Host T-Ray recaps the 2017 season, and then sits down with special guest Sanjay to talk about his passion for the Tigers as well as this 2018 Hanshin Tigers team. At the end of the show, T-Ray invites listeners to join the annual Central League prediction contest. Listen for details and send your entries…