Hanshin Tigers: Difference between revisions
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*{{player||USA|[[Dave Hansen (baseball player)|Dave Hansen]]}} |
*{{player||USA|[[Dave Hansen (baseball player)|Dave Hansen]]}} |
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*{{player||USA|[[Jason Hardtke]] - IF}} |
*{{player||USA|[[Jason Hardtke]] - IF}} |
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*{{player||USA|[[Phil Hiatt]] - IF}} |
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*{{player||JPN|[[Osamu Hoshino]] (星野 修, 星野 おさむ) - IF}} |
*{{player||JPN|[[Osamu Hoshino]] (星野 修, 星野 おさむ) - IF}} |
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*{{player||JPN|[[Nobuyuki Hoshino]] (星野 伸之) - P}} |
*{{player||JPN|[[Nobuyuki Hoshino]] (星野 伸之) - P}} |
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*{{player||JPN|[[Tsuyoshi Shinjo]] (新庄 剛志) - OF}} |
*{{player||JPN|[[Tsuyoshi Shinjo]] (新庄 剛志) - OF}} |
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*{{player||USA|[[Shane Spencer]] - OF}} |
*{{player||USA|[[Shane Spencer]] - OF}} |
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*{{player||JPN|[[Kento Sugiyama]] (杉山 賢人) - P}} |
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*{{player||JPN|[[Koichi Tabuchi]] (田淵 幸一)}} |
*{{player||JPN|[[Koichi Tabuchi]] (田淵 幸一)}} |
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*{{player||USA|[[Tony Tarasco]] - OF}} |
*{{player||USA|[[Tony Tarasco]] - OF}} |
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Revision as of 14:33, 24 May 2007
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The Hanshin Tigers (阪神タイガース, Hanshin Taigāsu) are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hansin Tigers directly. It is the sister team of the American baseball team Detroit Tigers and in Steven King and Stewart O'Nan's 2004 book Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season, the Tigers are often portrayed as the Japanese Red Sox.
History of the Hanshin Tigers
The Hanshin Tigers, one of the oldest professional clubs in Japan, were founded in 1935 with the team being formed in 1936. The team was first called the Ōsaka Tigers. In 1940, amid anti-foreign sentiment, the Tigers changed the name to Hanshin and in 1947 changed the name back to Ōsaka Tigers. The current team name was assumed in 1961.
The Tigers won four titles before the establishment of the two league system in 1950. Since the league was split into the Central League and the Pacific League, the Tigers have won the Central League pennant five times (1962, 1964, 1985, 2003, 2005) and the Japan Series once (1985).
When the 2004 Major League Baseball season opened in Japan, the Tigers played an exhibition game against the New York Yankees at the Tokyo Dome on March 29. The Tigers won 11–7.
In 2005 and 2006, over 3 million people visited to see the games hosted by the Tigers in each year. It is only the Tigers of 12 baseball teams in Japan.
On January 31, 2007, the Tigers presented uniforms for the 2007 season. For home games, one of the colors of the team, yellow, is used again.
The home field, Hanshin Kōshien Stadium, is used by high school baseball teams from all over Japan for play in the national championship tournaments in spring and summer.
Famous players in Hanshin Tigers history include Randy Bass, Masayuki Kakefu, Minoru Murayama, Jeff Williams, and many others.
Season-by-season
From the Nippon Sports Publishing Co., Ltd. (株式会社日本スポーツ出版社, Kabushikigaisha Nippon Spōtu Shuppansha) guidebook.
| Season | Place | Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Former Japanese Baseball League | ||
| Spring 1936 | Did not place | Shigeo Mori (森 茂雄) |
| Summer 1936 | Did not place | Shigeo Mori (森 茂雄) |
| Autumn 1936 | 2nd | Shuichi Ishimoto (石本 秀一) |
| Spring 1937 | 2nd | Shuichi Ishimoto (石本 秀一) |
| Autumn 1937 | 1st (League Champion) | Shuichi Ishimoto (石本 秀一) |
| Spring 1938 | 1st (League Champion) | Shuichi Ishimoto (石本 秀一) |
| Autumn 1938 | 2nd | Shuichi Ishimoto (石本 秀一) |
| 1939 | 2nd | Shuichi Ishimoto (石本 秀一) |
| 1940 | 2nd | Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎) |
| 1941 | 5th | Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎) |
| 1942 | 3rd | Tadashi Wakabayashi (若林 忠志) |
| 1943 | 3rd | Tadashi Wakabayashi (若林 忠志) |
| 1944 | 1st (League Champion) | Tadashi Wakabayashi (若林 忠志) |
| 1945 | No league play | |
| 1946 | 3rd | Fumio Fujimura (藤村 富美男) |
| 1947 | 1st (League Champion) | Tadashi Wakabayashi (若林 忠志) |
| 1948 | 3rd | Tadashi Wakabayashi (若林 忠志) |
| 1949 | 6th | Tadashi Wakabayashi (若林 忠志) |
| In the Central League | ||
| 1950 | 4th | Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎) |
| 1951 | 3rd | Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎) |
| 1952 | 2nd | Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎) |
| 1953 | 2nd | Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎) |
| 1954 | 3rd | Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎) |
| 1955 | 3rd | Ichiro Kishi (岸 一郎) → Fumio Fujimura (藤村 富美男) |
| 1956 | 2nd | Fumio Fujimura (藤村 富美男) |
| 1957 | 2nd | Fumio Fujimura (藤村 富美男) |
| 1958 | 2nd | Yoshio Tanaka (田中 義雄) |
| 1959 | 2nd | Yoshio Tanaka (田中 義雄) |
| 1960 | 3rd | Masayasu Kaneda (金田 正泰) |
| 1961 | 4th | Masayasu Kaneda (金田 正泰) → Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義) |
| 1962 | 1st (League Champion) | Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義) |
| 1963 | 3rd | Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義) |
| 1964 | 1st (League Champion) | Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義) |
| 1965 | 3rd | Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義) |
| 1966 | 3rd | Shigeru Sugishita (杉下 茂) → Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義) |
| 1967 | 3rd | Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義) |
| 1968 | 2nd | Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義) |
| 1969 | 2nd | Tsuguo Goto (後藤 次男) |
| 1970 | 2nd | Minoru Murayama (村山 実) |
| 1971 | 5th | Minoru Murayama (村山 実) |
| 1972 | 2nd | Minoru Murayama (村山 実) (- April 21) → Masayasu Kaneda (金田 正泰) (April 22 -) |
| 1973 | 2nd | Masayasu Kaneda (金田 正泰) |
| 1974 | 4th | Masayasu Kaneda (金田 正泰) |
| 1975 | 3rd | Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男) |
| 1976 | 2nd | Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男) |
| 1977 | 4th | Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男) |
| 1978 | 6th (last place) | Tsuguo Goto (後藤 次男) |
| 1979 | 4th | Don Blasingame (Don Blazer) |
| 1980 | 5th | Don Blasingame (Don Blazer) → Futoshi Nakanishi (中西 太) |
| 1981 | 3rd | Futoshi Nakanishi (中西 太) |
| 1982 | 3rd | Motoo Andoh (安藤 統男) Takao Sato (佐藤 孝夫) (June 13 - June 15) |
| 1983 | 4th | Motoo Andoh (安藤 統男) |
| 1984 | 4th | Motoo Andoh (安藤 統男) |
| 1985 | 1st (League Champion) Japan Series Champion |
Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男) |
| 1986 | 3rd | Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男) |
| 1987 | 6th (last place) | Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男) |
| 1988 | 6th (last place) | Minoru Murayama (村山 実) |
| 1989 | 5th | Minoru Murayama (村山 実) |
| 1990 | 6th (last place) | Katsuhiro Nakamura (中村 勝広) |
| 1991 | 6th (last place) | Katsuhiro Nakamura (中村 勝広) |
| 1992 | 2nd | Katsuhiro Nakamura (中村 勝広) |
| 1993 | 4th | Katsuhiro Nakamura (中村 勝広) |
| 1994 | 4th | Katsuhiro Nakamura (中村 勝広) |
| 1995 | 6th (last place) | Katsuhiro Nakamura (中村 勝広) (- July 23) → Taira Fujita (藤田 平) (July 24 -) |
| 1996 | 6th (last place) | Taira Fujita (藤田 平) (- September 11) → Takeshi Shibata (柴田 猛) (September 12 -) |
| 1997 | 5th | Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男) |
| 1998 | 6th (last place) | Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男) |
| 1999 | 6th (last place) | Katsuya Nomura (野村 克也) |
| 2000 | 6th (last place) | Katsuya Nomura (野村 克也) |
| 2001 | 6th (last place) | Katsuya Nomura (野村 克也) |
| 2002 | 4th | Senichi Hoshino (星野 仙一) |
| 2003 | 1st (League Champion) | Senichi Hoshino (星野 仙一) |
| 2004 | 4th | Akinobu Okada (岡田 彰布) |
| 2005 | 1st (League Champion) | Akinobu Okada (岡田 彰布) |
| 2006 | 2nd | Akinobu Okada (岡田 彰布) |
Curse of the Colonel
As with many other underachieving baseball teams, a curse is believed to lurk over the Tigers. After their 1985 Japan Series win, fans celebrated by having people who looked like Tigers players jump into the Dotonbori Canal. According to legend, because none of the fans resembled first baseman Randy Bass, fans grabbed a life-sized statue of Kentucky Fried Chicken mascot Colonel Sanders and threw it into the river (like Bass, the Colonel had a beard and was not Japanese). The statue was never recovered. Thus, the Tigers are said to be doomed never to win the season again until the Colonel is rescued from the river.
In 2003, when the Tigers returned to the Japan Series after 18 years with one of the worst records in the Central League, many KFC outlets in Kōbe and Ōsaka moved their Colonel Sanders statues inside until the series was over to protect them from Tigers fans.
Trivia
The home field of the Tigers, Hanshin Koshien Stadium, is one of four major natural grass baseball stadiums in Japan. The others are the Hiroshima Municipal Ballpark (Hiroshima Toyo Carp), the Yokohama Stadium (Yokohama BayStars), and Skymark Stadium in Kobe (part-time home of the newly-merged Orix Buffaloes). Of the three, only Yokohama has grass on the infield as well as in the outfield. There are numerous smaller grass field ballparks around the country; Japanese baseball teams frequently play games in small cities so that local fans can see more of their heroes.
The team's circular logo is very similar to the classic Detroit Tigers logo, except the tiger in the Major Leagues version is orange, whereas Hanshin's is yellow.
Koshien Stadium is by far the oldest ballpark in Japan; built in 1924, the stadium was once visited by the immortal Babe Ruth on a tour of Major League stars in 1934. There is a monument commemorating this visit at the front gates of the park.
Koshien is revered as a "sacred" ballpark, and players traditionally bow before entering and before leaving its hallowed field. The losing team in any high school baseball game played at the ballpark is allowed to scoop up handfuls of Koshien infield dirt, stuffing holy clay clods into tiny plastic bags as hordes of Japanese papparazzi snap photos at arm's length.
Tiger fans are known as perhaps the most fanatical and dedicated fans in all of Japanese professional baseball. They often outnumber the home team fans at Tiger "away" games. Tiger fans also have a reputation for rough behavior and a willingness to brawl with other fans or with each other, although long fights are rare. They have been known to attack the Tiger's team bus after losses.
A famous Tiger fan tradition is the release, by the fans, of hundreds of air-filled balloons immediately following the 7th inning stretch and the singing of the Tiger's fight song. This tradition is carried-out at all home and away games, except at games against the Yomiuri Giants in the Tokyo Dome due to the Giants' notoriously heavy-handed rules for behavior by visiting fans.
The Giants-Tigers rivalry is considered the national Japanese derby, on par with NYY vs. Red Sox in MLB or Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona in Spanish football.
"The Fight Song of the Hanshin Tigers (阪神タイガースの歌, Hanshin Taigāsu no Uta)", as known as "Rokko Oroshi" (The Wind of Mount Rokko), is a popular song in the Kansai area. It can even be found on karaoke boxes.
| Hanshin Taigāsu no Uta (Rokko Oroshi, romaji)
Rokkō oroshi ni sassō to Tōshi hatsuratsu tatsu ya ima |
The Wind of Mount Rokko (An official English version, not a direct translation) Dashing swiftly through the wind blowin' from Rokko Powerful hits and skillful pitch achieved a thousand times |
Players of note
Current stars
- 00
Shuta Tanaka (Shuta) (田中 秀太, 秀太) - IF - 0 Yutaka Nakamura (中村 豊) - OF
- 1 Takashi Toritani (鳥谷 敬) - IF
- 2 Toshihiro Noguchi (野口 寿浩) - C
- 3 Kentaro Sekimoto (関本 健太郎) - IF, Kentaro Sekimoto official website Template:Ja icon
- 4
Andy Sheets - IF - 5 Osamu Hamanaka (濱中 治) - OF, Osamu Hamanaka official website Template:Ja icon
- 6 Tomoaki Kanemoto (金本 知憲) - OF, Tomoaki Kanemoto official website Template:Ja icon
- 7 Makoto Imaoka (今岡 誠) - IF, Makoto Imaoka official website Template:Ja icon
- 8 Ryo Asai (浅井 良) - C
- 9 Atsushi Fujimoto (藤本 敦士) - IF, Atsushi Fujimoto official website Template:Ja icon
- 13 Yasuhiro Nakamura (中村 泰広) - P
- 14 Atsushi Nohmi (能見 篤史) - P
- 15 Taiyō Fujita (Taiyō) (藤田 太陽, 太陽) - P
- 16 Yuya Andoh (安藤 優也) - P
- 18 Naohisa Sugiyama (杉山 直久) - P
- 20 Takehito Kanazawa (金澤 健人) - P
- 22 Kyuji Fujikawa (藤川 球児) - P
- 24
Shinjiro Hiyama (桧山 進次郎) - OF, Shinjiro Hiyama official website Template:Ja icon - 28 Shinobu Fukuhara (福原 忍) - P, Shinobu Fukuhara official website Template:Ja icon
- 29 Tatsuya Kojima (小嶋 達也) - P
- 30 Tomoyuki Kubota (久保田 智之) - P
- 31
Lin Weizhu (林 威助) - OF - 34 Kentaro Hashimoto (橋本 健太郎) - P
- 36 Ryan Vogelsong - P
- 39 Akihiro Yano (矢野 輝弘) - C, Akihiro Yano official website Template:Ja icon
- 40 Masashi Sajikihara (桟原 将司) - P
- 42 Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi (下柳 剛) - P, Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi official website Template:Ja icon
- 47 Makoto Yoshino (吉野 誠) - P
- 50 Mitsunobu Takahashi (高橋 光信) - IF
- 52 Masato Akamatsu (赤松 真人) - OF
- 53 Norihiro Akahoshi (赤星 憲広) - OF, Norihiro Akahoshi official website Template:Ja icon
- 54
Jeff Williams - P, Jeff Williams (team profile) Template:Ja icon - 55 Go Kida (喜田 剛) - IF
- 59
Darwin Cubillan (Darwin) - P - 92
Esteban Yan - P - 99 Keisuke Kanoh (狩野 恵輔) - C
Former players
- George Altman - OF
- Sohachi Aniya (安仁屋 宗八) - P
- George Arias - IF
- Gene Bacque - P
- Randy Bass - IF
-
Mike Blowers - IF - Darnell Coles - IF, OF
- Doug Creek - P
- Glenn Davis (Glenn)
- Rob Deer
- Yutaka Enatsu (江夏 豊) - P
- Tom Evans
- Cecil Fielder
- Fumio Fujimura (藤村 富美男) - P, IF, died in 1992
- Taira Fujita (藤田 平)
- Rich Gale - P
- Mike Greenwell - OF
- Shosei Go (呉 昌征) - OF, died in 1987
- Dave Hansen
- Jason Hardtke - IF
- Phil Hiatt - IF
- Osamu Hoshino (星野 修, 星野 おさむ) - IF
- Nobuyuki Hoshino (星野 伸之) - P
- Kei Igawa (井川 慶) - P, Kei Igawa official website Template:Ja icon
- Mark Johnson - IF, OF
- Masaru Kageura (景浦 將), died in 1945
- Masayuki Kakefu (掛布 雅之) - IF
- Tsutomu Kameyama (亀山 努, 亀山 つとむ) - IF Tsutomu Kameyama official website Template:Ja icon
- Atsushi Kataoka (片岡 篤史) - IF, Atsushi Kataoka official website Template:Ja icon
- Kozo Kawatoh (川藤 幸三) - PH
- Matt Keough - P
- Mike Kinkade - IF
- Willie Kirkland - OF
- Masaaki Koyama (小山 正明)
- Kojiro Machida (町田 公二郎) - OF
- Darrell May - P
- Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎) - IF, died in 1986
- Susumu Mikoshiba (御子柴 進) - P
- Kurt Miller - P
- Toyozo Minamimure (南牟礼 豊蔵) - IF, OF
- Takao Misonoo (御園生 崇男) - P
- Tray Moore - P
- Romon Morel - P
- Minoru Murayama (村山 実) - P, died in 1998
- Kiyooki Nakanishi (中西 清起) - P (Present: a coach for the Tigers)
- Akinobu Okada (岡田 彰布) - IF (Present: the manager of the Tigers)
- Thomas O'malley
- Chris Oxspring - P
- Eduardo Perez - IF
- Larry Parrish
- Alonzo Powell - OF
- Mike Reinbach - OF, died in 1988
- Jerrod Riggan - P
- Bienvenido Rivera - OF
- Tsuyoshi Shinjo (新庄 剛志) - OF
- Shane Spencer - OF
- Kento Sugiyama (杉山 賢人) - P
- Koichi Tabuchi (田淵 幸一)
- Tony Tarasco - OF
- Katsunori Tomari (渡真利 克則) - IF, OF, PH, (an umpire in the Central League)
- Tomochika Tsuboi (坪井 智哉) - OF (Present: an outfielder for the Hokkaidō Nippon Ham Fighters)
- Marc Valdes - P
- Yutaka Wada (和田 豊) - IF, Yutaka Wada official website Template:Ja icon
- Tadashi Wakabayashi (若林 正) - P
- Marvell Wynne - OF
- Keiichi Yabu (藪 恵壹) - P
- Hiroshi Yagi (八木 裕) - IF, PH
- Kazuhiro Yamauchi (山内 一弘)
- Hiroshi Yoshida (吉田 浩) - OF, (Present: a coach for the Tigers)
- Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男) - IF
- Toshiro Yufune (湯舟 敏郎) - P
Retired numbers
- 10 Fumio Fujimura (藤村 富実男)
- 11 Minoru Murayama (村山 実)
- 23 Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男)
Media relating to the Tigers
- Newspapers
-
- Daily Sports (デイリースポーツ)
- Broadcasting stations
-
- SUN-TV (サンテレビ)
- Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (ABC, 朝日放送, TV, Radio)
- Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc. (MBS, 毎日放送, TV, Radio)
- Kansai Telecasting Corporation (KTV, 関西テレビ)
- Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation (ytv, 読売テレビ, よみうりテレビ)
- Television Osaka, Inc. (TVO, テレビ大阪)