The Hanshin Tigers game I saw last night was one of total dominance for the home team. Starter Randy Messenger pitched 6 innings of 4-hit, 10-strikeout shutout ball while the hitters put up two runs in the 4th inning. The relievers (Kaneda, Takamiya, Shimamoto, Matsuda and Ishizaki) cobbled together two more innings of shutout ball…
For the second straight series, the Hanshin Tigers lost two of three to an opponent that should have been easier to beat. This time, the losses were at the hands of long-time rivals Yomiuri (Kyojin) Giants. The series opened up on Friday with a Tigers win as starter Randy Messenger tossed 8 innings of 2-run…
Japanese Title: 阪神タイガースの黄金時代が永遠に来ない理由 – Hanshin Tigers no Ohgon Jidai ga Eien ni Konai Riyuu) Originally I thought this was a book written specifically about this problem, but a co-worker told me that it was actually a compilation of former great catcher and manager Katsuya Nomura’s newspaper columns. So while the book does address what the…
“I was a big baseball fan in Japan and found that looking at the different way the Japanese approached the game provided a window into the Japanese culture as a whole. Friends encouraged me to write a book about it and so I did. Took a year to write 100,000 words. The result was The…
As the season was heading into its final month and the Tigers fighting to catch the Yomiuri Giants (who had won 8 straight Nippon Series at this point), the Tigers faced the Chunichi Dragons at Koshien Stadium. Young ace Yutaka Enatsu (25) was on the mound, and he pitched a game for the ages. In…
Part 4 of Sponichi’s series of interviews with the “BIG 4” title holders sees Katsumi Hirosawa interviewing batting title holder Matt Murton. They discuss Murton’s elite hitting techniques as well as his strong desire to contribute to the team’s first championship in 30 years. Hirosawa: How are you doing physically these days? Murton: Well I…
As I perused the baseball section at the local library, this book seemed like one I should read. Nothing about the cover or the title would compel anyone to read it, but the author’s name might make you feel like you should. Yoshio Yoshida was not only the manager of the 1985 championship team (the…
Yano-Messenger Interview Yano-Oh Interview On April 15, 2014, Kataoka sat down to talk with Mauro Gomez. He was hitting 20-for-58 (.345) at the time and had reached base safely in 15 straight games from Opening Day. He pointed out that Gomez was hitting the ball to the opposite field quite well. When Kataoka…
This article was written back in the spring of 2015. Hanshin Koshien Stadium has since made it a little easier to purchase tickets with some English guidance. My suggestion is that you click here and follow their instructions rather than the ones below. But for the sake of posterity, I will keep these instructions on…
Tuesday’s “Sports Nippon” paper featured part 1 of 4 interviews that will be conducted with the Tigers’ foreign players. In this one, former catcher great Akihiro Yano interviews ace pitcher Randy Messenger. Yano: This is your sixth year in Japan. I guess you know what to expect out of spring camp by now? Messenger: Yeah,…