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…
Nothing has gone the Tigers’ way since the start of interleague play. They sure aren’t helping themselves, either. Heading on the road against the top team in the Central League was not going to help things, either. Even with the “ace” opening the series and the true ace closing it. Game 91 – Friday 7/22:…
The first two-game winning streak in six weeks was a positive way to enter the all-star break, but could the team propel themselves to have a proper winning streak, though? The team’s best through 87 games was just three, achieved only once. The team would host the second place Giants to start the final portion…
After practically gift-wrapping the final game of the Lions series at home (bringing the Tigers record at Koshien this season to an atrocious 11-14-1), the Tigers hit the road for two straight series against two of the tougher Pacific League teams. The first of these would be held in Chiba against the Lotte Marines at…
We take two steps forward and one step back. One step forward and then two back. The Hanshin Tigers have been within a game of .500 since May 11 – an incredible stretch in which there has been no winning or losing streak longer than two games. After nine games on the road, the team came…
It was great to see many of the players up closely during the first week of spring training down in Okinawa last week. After terrible bouts with illness, I am finally ready to start processing what I saw and share it with you all. Part 1 was about the fielders (catchers excluded), this one will…
The Hanshin Tigers started their 2015 season with one goal: winning the Central League pennant in their memorial 80th year as a franchise. Despite finishing 7 games behind the champion Yomiuri Giants and just a half game ahead of the Hiroshima Carp in 2014, the team made no significant offseason moves. In fact, officials pointed…
So you thought the Hanshin Tigers’ baseball season was over? Think again. For some players, the break was short or even non-existent. Many have been practicing at Koshien the past week or so, and starting November 1, the team will have its annual Fall Camp in Aki City (Kochi Prefecture). This will be their first…
The events of the past few games have prompted sports writers to start dreaming up scenarios of how the Tigers can break out of their mediocrity, leaving the rest of the Central League behind them (assuming no other team snaps out of their funk). Here are the two most interesting ideas I have read, along…
It must have been getting lonely at the top. The Hanshin Tigers were the lone Central League team with a winning record heading into the last series of June, and they were riding a 7-game undefeated streak that stretched back to the middle of the month. Their best hitters were heating up, and their starters…