Hanshin Tigers

Hanshin Tigers
阪神タイガース
File:Hanshintigerslogo.png
Information
CL pennants	6 (1962, 1964, 1985, 2003, 2005, 2023)
JBL championships	4 (1937 Fall, 1938 Spring, 1944, 1947)
Former name(s)	Osaka Tigers (1946–1960) Hanshin Club (1940–1944) Osaka Tigers (1935–1940)
Uniforms

The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース Hanshin Taigāsu) are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, next to their main stadium, Koshien Stadium.

The Tigers are owned by Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc.

The Hanshin Tigers are one of the oldest professional clubs in Japan. They played their first season in 1936 as the Osaka Tigers and assumed their current team name in 1961.

History

Kōshien Stadium in 2009

The Hanshin Tigers, second of the oldest professional clubs in Japan, were founded on December 10, 1935, with the team being formed in 1936. The team was first called "Ōsaka Tigers". In 1940, amid anti-foreign sentiment and the Tojo government's ban on English nicknames, the Tigers changed the name to simply "Hanshin". In 1947, the team reverted to "Ōsaka Tigers" after the JPBL mandated English nicknames. The current team name was assumed in 1961, due to the team playing in the suburb of Nishinomiya, which is not in Osaka Prefecture.

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 six times (1962, 1964, 1985, 2003, 2005, 2023) 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 each of 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009, more than three million people attended games hosted by the Tigers. The Tigers were the only one of the 12 Nippon Professional Baseball teams to achieve this.

On January 31, 2007, the Tigers presented uniforms for the 2007 season. For the home uniforms, yellow, one of the colors of the team, was used again.

The home field, Koshien Stadium, is used by high school baseball teams from all over Japan for play in the national championship tournaments in spring and summer. The summer tournament takes place in the middle of the Tigers' season, forcing the Tigers to go on a road trip and play their home games at Kyocera Dome Osaka. Fans call this "The Road of Death".

Famous players in Hanshin Tigers history include Fumio Fujimura, Masaru Kageura, Minoru Murayama, Yutaka Enatsu, Masayuki Kakefu, Randy Bass, Taira Fujita, and many others.

Koshien Stadium

The home field of the Tigers, Hanshin Koshien Stadium, is one of three major natural grass baseball stadiums in Japan. The others are the Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima (Hiroshima Toyo Carp), and Hotto Motto Field Kobe (part-time home of the Orix Buffaloes). Of the three, only Koshien has an all-dirt infield (the other two have an American-style infield). There are numerous smaller grass field ballparks around the country; Japanese baseball teams frequently play games in small cities.

Koshien Stadium is the oldest ballpark in Japan; built in 1924, the stadium was once visited by American baseball legend Babe Ruth on a tour of Major League stars in 1934. There is a monument commemorating this visit within the stadium grounds, in an area called Mizuno Square.

Koshien is revered as a "sacred" ballpark, and players traditionally bow before entering and before leaving its hallowed field. The stadium hosts the annual Japanese High School Baseball Championship in the summer and Japanese High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in the spring. 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 soil into their cleat bags as hordes of Japanese media snap photos at arm's length.

Curse of the Colonel

Main article: 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 Dōtonbori 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). After many seasons without a pennant win, the Tigers were said to be doomed never to win the season again until the Colonel was rescued from the river.

In 2003, when the Tigers returned to the Japan Series after 18 years with the best record 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.

The top half of the statue (excluding both hands) was finally recovered on March 10, 2009, and the bottom half and right hand shortly after, in the canal by construction workers while constructing a new boardwalk area as part of a beautification project. The statue is still missing its left hand and glasses. The KFC outlet where this statue once stood has since closed; the statue is now at the KFC headquarters in Yokohama. It is not viewable by the public; only employees and special guests are permitted to gaze into the rescued Colonel's eyes. Since then, the Hanshin Tigers made the 2014 Japan Series, but lost to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in 5 games.

Fandom

Tigers fans at a home game at Koshien Stadium

Tigers fans release balloons at the Kyocera Dome, the home stadium of the Orix Buffaloes

Tigers 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 Tigers "away" games. Tigers fans also once had a reputation for rough behavior and a willingness to brawl with other fans or with each other, although fights are rare these days.

A famous Tigers fan tradition (done by other teams of NPB as well) is the release, by the fans, of hundreds of air-filled balloons immediately following the seventh-inning stretch and the singing of the Tigers' 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 authoritarian and heavy-handed rules for controlling behavior by visiting fans.

The Tigers-Giants rivalry is considered the national Japanese rivalry, on par with the San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers and the Yankees–Red Sox rivalry in Major League Baseball or Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona in Spanish football.

Fight song

"The Hanshin Tigers' Song (阪神タイガースの歌, Hanshin Tigers no Uta)", as known as "Rokko Oroshi (六甲颪, 六甲おろし, lit. The (Downward) Wind of Mount Rokko)", lyrics by Sonosuke Sato (佐藤 惣之助) and composed by Yuji Koseki (古関 裕而), is a popular song in the Kansai area. It is the official fight song of the Tigers. In Japan, wind which blows down from a mountain is known to be cold and harsh, hence the song symbolizes the Tiger's brave challenge under hardship. The song can even be found on karaoke boxes.

阪神タイガースの歌 (六甲颪, kanji) 六甲颪 (ろっこうおろし)に颯爽 (さっそう)と 蒼天 (そうてん)翔 (か)ける日輪 (にちりん)の 青春の覇気 美 (うるわ)しく 輝く我が名ぞ 阪神タイガース オウ オウ オウオウ 阪神タイガース フレフレフレフレ 闘志 (とうし)溌剌 (はつらつ) 起 (た)つや今 熱血 既 (すで)に敵を衝 (つ)く 獣王の意気高らかに 無敵の我等ぞ 阪神タイガース オウ オウ オウオウ 阪神タイガース フレフレフレフレ 鉄腕強打幾千 (いくち)度 (た)び 鍛えてここに 甲子園 勝利に燃ゆる栄冠は 輝く我等ぞ 阪神タイガース オウ オウ オウオウ 阪神タイガース フレフレフレフレ

Hanshin Tigers no Uta (Rokko Oroshi, romaji) Rokkō oroshi ni sassō to Sōten kakeru nichirin no Seishun no haki uruwashiku Kagayaku wagana zo Hanshin Tigers Ō-ō-ō-ō Hanshin Tigers Fure-fure-fure-fure Tōshi hatsuratsu tatsu ya ima Nekketsu sude ni teki o tsuku Jūō no iki takaraka ni Muteki no warera zo Hanshin Tigers Ō-ō-ō-ō Hanshin Tigers Fure-fure-fure-fure Tetsuwan kyōda ikuchitabi Kitaete koko ni Kōshien Shōri ni moyuru eikan wa Kagayaku warera zo Hanshin Tigers Ō-ō-ō-ō Hanshin Tigers Fure-fure-fure-fure

The Hanshin Tigers' Song (The Wind of Mount Rokko) an official English version, not a direct translation Dashing swiftly through the wind blowin' from Rokko Like the big sun soaring in the clear blue sky Mighty spirit of the youth shows the victor's grace The name that shines in glory "Hanshin Tigers" Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Hanshin Tigers Go, Go, Go, Go! Powerful hits and skillful pitch achieved a thousand times Trained with every discipline here at Koshien Crowned with constant victory glorious, matchless feat Always proud, invincible "Hanshin Tigers" Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Hanshin Tigers Go, Go, Go, Go!

Regular season records

Osaka Tigers (Japanese Baseball League)
Year	Manager	Games	Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct.	GB	Place
1936 – Spring/Summer Season	Shigeo Mori	15	9	6	0	.600	N/A	(1 tournament won)
1936 – Fall Season	Shuichi Ishimoto	31	24	6	1	.774	N/A	Runners-up (2.5 tournaments won)
1937 – Spring Season	Shuichi Ishimoto	56	41	14	1	.741	0.5	2nd (out of 8)
1937 – Fall Season	Shuichi Ishimoto	49	39	9	1	.806	-.-	1st (out of 8)
1938 – Spring Season	Shuichi Ishimoto	35	29	6	0	.829	-.-	1st (out of 8)
1938 – Fall Season	Shuichi Ishimoto	40	27	13	0	.675	3.5	2nd (out of 9)
1939	Shuichi Ishimoto	96	63	30	3	.672	3.5	2nd (out of 9)
Hanshin (Japanese Baseball League)
Year	Manager	Games	Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct.	GB	Place
1940	Kenjiro Matsuki	104	64	37	3	.630	10.5	2nd (out of 9)
1941	Kenjiro Matsuki	84	41	43	0	.488	21.0	5th (out of 8)
1942	Tadashi Wakabayashi	105	52	48	5	.519	21.0	3rd (out of 8)
1943	Tadashi Wakabayashi	84	41	36	7	.530	11.0	3rd (out of 8)
1944	Tadashi Wakabayashi	35	27	6	2	.800	-.-	1st (out of 6)
1946	Fumio Fujimura	105	59	46	0	.562	7.0	3rd (out of 8)
Osaka Tigers (Japanese Baseball League)
Year	Manager	Games	Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct.	GB	Place
1947	Tadashi Wakabayashi	119	79	37	3	.676	-.-	1st (out of 8)
1948	Tadashi Wakabayashi	140	70	66	4	.514	17.0	3rd (out of 8)
1949	Tadashi Wakabayashi	137	65	69	3	.485	20.5	6th (out of 8)
Osaka Tigers
Year	Manager	Games	Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct.	GB	Place
1950	Kenjiro Matsuki	140	70	67	3	.511	30.0	4th
1951	Kenjiro Matsuki	116	61	52	3	.539	20.5	3rd
1952	Kenjiro Matsuki	120	79	40	1	.663	3.5	2nd
1953	Kenjiro Matsuki	130	74	56	0	.569	16.0	2nd
1954	Kenjiro Matsuki	130	71	57	2	.554	16.0	3rd
1955	Ichiro Kishi (Interim: Fumio Fujimura)	130	71	57	2	.554	20.5	3rd
1956	Fumio Fujimura	130	79	50	1	.612	4.5	2nd
1957	Fumio Fujimura	130	73	54	3	.573	1.0	2nd
1958	Yoshio Tanaka	130	72	58	0	.554	5.5	2nd
1959	Yoshio Tanaka	130	62	59	9	.512	13.0	2nd
1960	Masayasu Kaneda	130	64	62	4	.508	6.0	3rd
Hanshin Tigers
Year	Manager	Games	Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct.	GB	Place
1961	Masayasu Kaneda (Interim: Sadayoshi Fujimoto)	130	60	67	3	.473	12.5	4th
1962	Sadayoshi Fujimoto	133	75	55	3	.575	-.-	1st
1963	Sadayoshi Fujimoto	140	69	70	1	.496	14.5	3rd
1964	Sadayoshi Fujimoto	140	80	56	4	.586	-.-	1st
1965	Sadayoshi Fujimoto	140	71	66	3	.518	19.5	3rd
1966	Shigeru Sugishita (Interim: Sadayoshi Fujimoto)	135	64	66	5	.493	25.0	3rd
1967	Sadayoshi Fujimoto	136	70	60	6	.537	14.0	3rd
1968	Sadayoshi Fujimoto	133	72	58	3	.553	5.0	2nd
1969	Tsuguo Goto	130	68	59	3	.535	6.5	2nd
1970	Minoru Murayama	130	77	49	4	.608	2.0	2nd
1971	Minoru Murayama	130	57	64	9	.473	12.5	5th
1972	Minoru Murayama (Interim: Masayasu Kaneda)	130	71	56	3	.558	3.5	2nd
1973	Masayasu Kaneda	130	64	59	7	.519	0.5	2nd
1974	Masayasu Kaneda	130	57	64	9	.473	14.0	4th
1975	Yoshio Yoshida	130	68	55	7	.550	6.0	3rd
1976	Yoshio Yoshida	130	72	45	13	.604	2.0	2nd
1977	Yoshio Yoshida	130	55	63	12	.469	21.0	4th
1978	Tsuguo Goto	130	41	80	9	.350	30.5	6th (last)
1979	Don Blasingame	130	61	60	9	.504	8.0	4th
1980	Don Blasingame (Interim: Futoshi Nakanishi)	130	54	66	10	.454	20.5	5th
1981	Futoshi Nakanishi	130	67	58	5	.535	8.0	3rd
1982	Motoo Andoh (Interim: Takao Sato)	130	65	57	8	.531	4.5	3rd
1983	Motoo Andoh	130	62	63	5	.496	11.5	4th
1984	Motoo Andoh	130	53	69	8	.438	23.0	4th
1985	Yoshio Yoshida	130	74	49	7	.596	-.-	1st – Won Japan Series
1986	Yoshio Yoshida	130	60	60	10	.500	13.5	3rd
1987	Yoshio Yoshida	130	41	83	6	.338	37.5	6th (last)
1988	Minoru Murayama	130	51	77	2	.400	29.5	6th (last)
1989	Minoru Murayama	130	54	75	1	.419	30.5	5th
1990	Katsuhiro Nakamura	130	52	78	0	.400	36.0	6th (last)
1991	Katsuhiro Nakamura	130	48	82	0	.369	26.0	6th (last)
1992	Katsuhiro Nakamura	132	67	63	2	.515	2.0	2nd/3rd (tied)
1993	Katsuhiro Nakamura	132	63	67	2	.485	17.0	4th
1994	Katsuhiro Nakamura	130	62	68	0	.477	8.0	4th/5th (tied)
1995	Katsuhiro Nakamura (Interim: Taira Fujita)	130	46	84	0	.354	36.0	6th (last)
1996	Taira Fujita (Interim: Takeshi Shibata)	130	54	76	0	.415	23.0	6th (last)
1997	Yoshio Yoshida	136	62	73	1	.460	21.0	5th
1998	Yoshio Yoshida	135	52	83	0	.385	27.0	6th (last)
1999	Katsuya Nomura	135	55	80	0	.407	26.0	6th (last)
2000	Katsuya Nomura	136	57	78	1	.423	21.0	6th (last)
2001	Katsuya Nomura	140	57	80	3	.418	20.5	6th (last)
2002	Senichi Hoshino	140	66	70	4	.486	19.0	4th
2003	Senichi Hoshino	140	87	51	2	.629	-.-	1st
2004	Akinobu Okada	138	66	70	2	.485	13.0	4th
2005	Akinobu Okada	146	87	54	5	.617	-.-	1st
2006	Akinobu Okada	146	84	58	4	.592	3.5	2nd
2007	Akinobu Okada	144	74	66	4	.529	4.5	3rd
2008	Akinobu Okada	144	82	59	3	.582	2.0	2nd
2009	Akinobu Mayumi	144	67	73	4	.479	24.5	4th
2010	Akinobu Mayumi	144	78	63	3	.553	1.0	2nd
2011	Akinobu Mayumi	144	68	70	6	.493	9.0	4th
2012	Yutaka Wada	144	55	75	14	.423	31.5	5th
2013	Yutaka Wada	144	73	67	4	.521	12.5	2nd
2014	Yutaka Wada	144	75	68	1	.524	7.0	2nd
2015	Yutaka Wada	143	70	71	2	.496	6.0	3rd
2016	Tomoaki Kanemoto	143	64	76	3	.457	24.5	4th
2017	Tomoaki Kanemoto	143	78	61	4	.561	10.0	2nd
2018	Tomoaki Kanemoto	143	62	79	2	.440	20.0	6th
2019	Akihiro Yano	143	69	68	6	.504	6.0	3rd
2020	Akihiro Yano	120	60	53	7	.531	7.5	2nd
2021	Akihiro Yano	143	77	56	10	.579	1	2nd
2022	Akihiro Yano	143	68	71	10	.579	12	3rd

NOTE: The 1944 Japanese Baseball League season was cut-short, the 1945 season was cancelled due to the ongoing war (World War II) with many players being enlisted to fight, and the 2020 Nippon Professional Baseball season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

List of managers

Name	Term	Regular Season
		GC	W	L	T	Win%
Osaka Tigers and Hanshin Tigers
Shigeo Mori	1936 (Spring – Summer)	15	9	6	0	.600
Shuichi Ishimoto	1936 (Fall)-1939	307	223	78	6	.736
Kenjiro Matsuki	1940–1941 & 1950–1954	824	460	352	12	.565
Tadashi Wakabayashi	1942–1944 & 1947–1949	620	334	262	24	.558
Fumio Fujimura	1946 & 1956–1957	365	211	150	4	.584
Ichiro Kishi	1955	130	71	57	2	.554
Yoshio Tanaka	1958–1959	260	134	117	9	.533
Masayasu Kaneda	1960–1961 & 1973–1974	520	245	252	23	.493
Sadayoshi Fujimoto	1962–1965 & 1967–1968	822	437	365	20	.544
Shigeru Sugishita	1966	135	64	66	5	.493
Tsuguo Goto	1969 & 1978	260	109	139	12	.442
Minoru Murayama	1970–1972 & 1988–1989	650	310	321	19	.491
Yoshio Yoshida	1975–1977, 1985–1987 & 1997–1998	1051	484	511	56	.487
Don Blasingame	1979–1980	260	115	126	19	.479
Futoshi Nakanishi	1981	130	67	58	5	.535
Motoo Andoh	1982–1984	390	180	189	21	.488
Katsuhiro Nakamura	1990–1995	784	338	442	4	.434
Taira Fujita	1996	130	54	76	0	.415
Katsuya Nomura	1999–2001	411	169	238	4	.416
Senichi Hoshino	2002–2003	280	153	121	6	.557
Akinobu Okada	2004–2008 & 2023–present	723	393	307	23	.559
Akinobu Mayumi	2009–2011	432	213	206	13	.508
Yutaka Wada	2012–2015	575	273	281	21	.493
Tomoaki Kanemoto	2016–2018	429	204	216	9	.486
Akihiro Yano	2019–2022	143	274	248	27	.525

Players of note

Current roster

Hanshin Tigers roster
First squad				Second squad
Pitchers 00 Javy Guerra 13 Suguru Iwazaki 14 Yuta Iwasada 15 Junya Nishi 16 Yuki Nishi 17 Koyo Aoyagi 27 Masashi Itoh 35 Hiroto Saiki 36 Masumi Hamachi 37 Masaki Oyokawa 41 Shoki Murakami 46 Hiroya Shimamoto 47 Takuma Kirishiki 49 Kotaro Ohtake 54 Ren Kajiya 65 Atsuki Yuasa 69 Daichi Ishii 99 Jeremy Beasley Catchers 2 Ryutaro Umeno 12 Seishiro Sakamoto 39 Yuki Sakaeda 57 Kenya Nagasaka		Infielders 0 Seiya Kinami 3 Yusuke Ohyama 4 Takahiro Kumagai 8 Teruaki Sato 33 Kento Itohara 38 Ryuhei Obata 51 Takumu Nakano 94 Fumihito Haraguchi Outfielders 1 Shota Morishita 5 Koji Chikamoto 7 Sheldon Neuse 53 Kairi Shimada 55 Taishi Kusumoto 60 Dan Onodera Manager 22 Kyuji Fujikawa Coaches Head coach 78 Katsuo Hirata Pitching 88 Yuya Andoh 90 Tomoyuki Kubota Battery 83 Munehiko Shimada Hitting 73 Eiji Mizuguchi 77 Makoto Imaoka Infield defense/Base running/Sacrifice bunt Infield defense/Base running 74 Atsushi Fujimoto 81 Toshifumi Baba Outfield defense/Base running/Analytical 96 So Tsutsui		Pitchers 19 Kaito Shimomura 20 Daichi Moriki 21 Takumi Akiyama 26 Tsuyoshi Shiiba 28 Yuto Suzuki 29 Haruto Takahashi 30 Keito Monbetsu 34 Taisei Urushihara 48 Hidetoshi Ibaragi 50 Ren Tomida 63 Yuya Ishiguro 64 Hidetaka Okadome 66 Junya Tsuda 92 Riku Kawahara 93 Masaki Iwata 98 Ren Satoh Catchers 59 Kento Fujita 68 Hayato Nakagawa 95 Yuya Katayama		Infielders 43 Yuto Takahama 44 Reiji Toi 45 Jo Endo 52 Shuya Yamada 56 Aoi Momosaki 62 Kai Ueda 67 Nozomu Takatera Outfielders 32 Kouta Inoue 40 Hinase Itsubo 58 Ukyo Maegawa 61 Hiroshi Toyoda 97 Kyosuke Noguchi Manager 86 Yutaka Wada Coaches Head coach Pitching 85 Shinobu Fukuhara 72 Hirotaka Egusa 89 Ryo Watanabe Battery 87 Katsunori Nomura Hitting/Analytical 84 Takeshi Hidaka Hitting 75 Noriharu Yamazaki 91 Hirotoshi Kitagawa Infield defense/Base running 70 Shuta Tanaka Outfield defense/Base running 76 Takahito Kudo Development coach 71 Hiroki Uemoto
Development Players
122 Ippei Ogawa (P) 124 Atsushi Mochizuki (P) 125 Ryo Itoh (P) 126 Kein Fukushima (OF) 131 Jose Betances (P) 132 Anthony Martinez (P)
Updated February 29, 2024				→ All NPB rosters

Former players

• Shinjiro Hiyama (桧山 進次郎) – OF
• Norihiro Akahoshi (赤星 憲広) – OF
• Kenji Johjima (城島 健司) – C
• George Altman – OF
• Sohachi Aniya (安仁屋 宗八) – P
• George Arias – IF
• Scott Atchison – P
• Gene Bacque – P
• Randy Bass – IF
• Kaoru Betto (別当 薫) – OF
• Oh Seung-hwan (吳 昇桓) – P
• Mike Blowers – IF
• Jamie Brown – P
• Darnell Coles – IF, OF
• Doug Creek – P
• Iván Cruz – IF
• Glenn Davis
• Rob Deer – OF
• Yutaka Enatsu (江夏 豊) – P
• Tom Evans – IF
• Cecil Fielder – IF
• Lew Ford – OF
• Atsushi Fujimoto (藤本 敦士) – IF
• Fumio Fujimura (藤村 富美男) – P, IF
• Taira Fujita – IF (藤田 平)
• Rich Gale – P
• Mike Greenwell – OF
• Shosei Go (呉 昌征) – OF
• Dave Hansen – IF
• Jason Hardtke – IF
• Phil Hiatt – IF
• Katsumi Hirosawa (広澤 克実) – IF, OF
• Trey Hodges – P
• Osamu Hoshino (星野 修, 星野 おさむ) – IF
• Nobuyuki Hoshino (星野 伸之) – P
• Makoto Imaoka (今岡 誠) – IF
• Kei Igawa (井川 慶) – P
• Atsunori Itoh (伊藤 敦規) – P
• Mark Johnson – IF, OF
• Masaru Kageura (景浦 將) – OF, IF, P
• Masayuki Kakefu (掛布 雅之) – IF
• Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi (下柳 剛) – P
• Tsutomu Kameyama (亀山 努, 亀山 つとむ) – OF
• Tomoaki Kanemoto (金本 知憲) – OF
• Atsushi Kataoka (片岡 篤史) – IF
• Tetsuro Kawajiri (川尻 哲郎) – P
• Kozo Kawato (川藤 幸三) – PH, OF
• Matt Keough – P
• Katsuhiko Kido (木戸 克彦) – C
• Mike Kinkade – IF
• Willie Kirkland – OF
• Masaaki Koyama (小山 正明) – P
• Kuo Lee Chien-Fu (郭李 建夫) – P
• Kojiro Machida (町田 公二郎) – OF
• Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎) – IF
• Darrell May – P
• Akinobu Mayumi (真弓 明信) – IF, OF
• 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
• Trey Moore – P
• Ramón Morel – P
• Minoru Murayama (村山 実) – P
• Rodney Myers – P
• Yutaka Nakamura (中村 豊) – OF
• Kiyooki Nakanishi (中西 清起) – P
• Toshihiro Noguchi (野口 寿浩) – C
• Atsushi Nomi (能見 篤史) – P
• Akinobu Okada (岡田 彰布) – IF
• Tom O'Malley – IF
• Curtis Olsen – P
• Chris Oxspring – P
• Eduardo Pérez – IF
• Larry Parrish – IF
• Alonzo Powell – OF
• Mike Reinbach – OF
• 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) – C
• Yasuaki Taiho (大豊 泰昭, 陳大豐) – IF
• Yasushi Tao (田尾 安志) – OF
• Shuta Tanaka (田中 秀太, 秀太) – IF
• Tony Tarasco – OF
• Katsunori Tomari (渡真利 克則) – IF, OF, PH
• Shoji Toyama (遠山 奬志) – P
• Tomochika Tsuboi (坪井 智哉) – OF
• Marc Valdes – P
• Ryan Vogelsong – P
• Yutaka Wada (和田 豊) – IF
• Tadashi Wakabayashi (若林 忠志) – P
• Jeff Williams – P
• Craig Worthington – IF
• Marvell Wynne – OF
• Keiichi Yabu (藪 恵壹) – P
• Hiroshi Yagi (八木 裕) – IF, OF, PH
• Kazuyuki Yamamoto (山本 和行) – P
• Kazuhiro Yamauchi (山内 一弘) – OF
• Akihiro Yano (矢野 輝弘, 矢野 耀大) – C
• Hiroshi Yoshida (吉田 浩) – OF
• Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男) – IF
• Toshiro Yufune (湯舟 敏郎) – P
• Kyuji Fujikawa (藤川 球児) – P

Retired numbers

• 10 Fumio Fujimura (藤村 富実男)
• 11 Minoru Murayama (村山 実)
• 23 Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男)

MLB Players

• Kenji Johjima (2006-2009)
• Ryan Vogelsong (2000–2006, 2011–2017)
• Tsuyoshi Shinjo (2001–2003)
• Keiichi Yabu (2005, 2008)
• Cecil Fielder (1989)
• Glenn Davis (1984–1993)
• Chris Oxspring (2005)
• Kei Igawa (2007–2010)
• Marvell Wynne (1983–1990)
• Craig Worthington (1988–1992, 1995–1996)
• Jeff Williams (1999–2002)
• Marc Valdes (1995–1998, 2000–2001)
• Tony Tarasco (1993–1999, 2002)
• Jerrod Riggan (2000–2003)
• Alonzo Powell (1987, 1991)
• Matt Murton (2005–2009)
• Leon McFadden (1972)
• Seung-hwan Oh (2016–2019)
• Kyuji Fujikawa (2013-15)
• Pierce Johnson (2020-present)
• Robert Suarez (2022-present)
• Shintaro Fujinami (2023-present)

Media relating to the Tigers

Mascots

To Lucky (トラッキー, Torakkii) is a mascot character of the Tigers. With his girlfriend Lucky, he entertains spectators at team games. His uniform number is 1985, because his first appearance was in 1985. His name is a combination of two separate Japanese words, Tora (トラ), meaning tiger and Rakki (ラッキ) meaning lucky. His name therefore means "lucky tiger" in Japanese.

To Lucky's first appearance was on the screen at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in 1985. He appeared as a live-action character in 1987. His design was updated in 1992.

Aside from To-Lucky, the other mascots of the Tigers are Lucky ( ラッキー  Rakkii), his girlfriend, and the most recent addition, Keeta (キー太), Lucky's little brother. Keeta's uniform number is 2011, because he was introduced to the Tigers in 2011. He wears a backwards cap. Lucky's cap is pink unlike her boyfriend's and little brother’s.

Newspapers

• Daily Sports (デイリースポーツ, published by the Kobe Shimbun, except Hiroshima region)
• Nikkan Sports (日刊スポーツ, affiliated company of the Asahi Shimbun, Kansai region)
• Sankei Sports (サンケイスポーツ, published by the Sankei Shimbun Osaka Head Office)
• Sports Nippon (スポーツニッポン, affiliated company of the Mainichi Shimbun, Kansai region)

Stations

(Broadcasting):

• Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc. (MBS, 毎日放送, Radio and TV)
• Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (ABC, 朝日放送, Radio and TV)
• Kansai Telecasting Corporation (関西テレビ, TV)
• Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation (読売テレビ, TV)
• Television Osaka, Inc. (テレビ大阪, TV)
• SUN-TV (サンテレビ, TV)

See also

• Central League
• Western League
• Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group – Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
• Tampere Tigers

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Suicide Spurs Reflections on Japanese Baseball – The New York Times
• Appetite for Hanshin - Hanshin Tigers English news website