No one likes wallowing in the gloom of a postseason loss. For that reason, I will not dwell too much on the losses themselves, or the potential reality of losing Takashi Toritani to Major League Baseball. Instead, I will look at three striking numbers/factors that brought about Hanshin’s demise quickly in games 2-5. Setting Game…
The heartbreak continues for Hanshin Tigers fans. A strong showing against the Yomiuri Giants and a brilliantly played Game 1 had fans hoping for the team’s first Nippon Series title since 1985. Instead, the SoftBank Hawks (particularly their pitching) silenced the Tigers and their fans, winning four straight while only allowing 4 runs in 37…
In a must-win situation, the Tigers mustered a mere four hits all night. With a huge chance to take the lead and tie the series at two, their RBI King grounded into a double play. With the game on the line in the bottom of the tenth, their Saves King gave up a 3-run walk-off…
As most of you already know, the Nippon Series is tied 1-1 and is heading to Fukuoka for three games, where the Hawks will host the Tigers in the confines of YafuOku Dome. With the Pacific League team hosting, the rules change slightly as well. Instead of the pitcher getting an at-bat, each team designates…
In October, everything has been coming up Tigers. They won their last game of the regular season on October 1, watched the Carp hand second place to them by losing their final game, won their best-of-3 against those same Carp despite scoring just one run in 21 innings, and then swept the Giants in their…
History was made at Koshien Stadium tonight. For the first time ever, two foreigners were named starting pitchers of Game 1 of the Nippon Series. This one was supposed to be a low-scoring battle between Randy Messenger and Jason Standridge. Both had great seasons, and Standridge even shut out the Tigers at Koshien earlier this…
Scheduled Games & Possible Starters: GAME 1: Saturday, October 25, 6:15 pm (Koshien Stadium): Randy Messenger (13-10) vs. Jason Standridge (11-8) GAME 2: Sunday, October 26, 6:15 pm (Koshien Stadium): Minoru Iwata (9-8) vs. Kenji Ohtonari (3-1) GAME 3: Tuesday, October 28, 6:30 pm (YafuOku Dome): Shintaro Fujinami (10-7) vs. Shota Takeda (3-3) GAME 4: Wednesday, October 29, 6:30 pm…
Starting with manager Tatsunori Hara, I’m sure there are many Yomiuri Giants shaking their heads today, still wondering how and why they got swept in their home park against a seemingly weaker Hanshin Tigers team. I offer you three simple reasons, none of which really answer any questions but all of which show just how…
Scheduled Games & Possible Starters*: Wednesday, October 15, 6pm: Shintaro Fujinami (10-7) vs. Tetsuya Utsumi (7-9) Thursday, October 16, 6pm: Minoru Iwata (9-8) vs. Hirokazu Sawamura (5-3) Friday, October 17, 6pm: Randy Messenger (13-10) vs. Toshiya Sugiuchi (10-6) Saturday, October 18, 6pm: Atsushi Nohmi (9-13) vs. Yuki Koyama (6-2) Sunday, October 19, 6pm: Suguru Iwazaki (5-4) vs. Kan Otake (9-6) Monday, October 20, 6pm: Shintaro Fujinami…
The Tigers’ batting order has remained mostly unchanged this season, as long as all the players were healthy. On a typical night, it looked something like this: 1 – Uemoto (2B) 2 – Yamato (CF) 3 – Toritani (SS) 4 – Gomez (1B) 5 – Murton (LF) 6 – Fukudome (RF) 7 – Imanari / T…