Hanshin Tigers

Hanshin Tigers
League	Central League
Location	Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture
Ballpark	Hanshin Kōshien Stadium
Year Founded	1935
Nickname(s)	Hanshin (阪神), Tigers (タイガース), Tora (トラ, "tiger"), "Mōko" (猛虎, "fierce tiger")
League championships	1962, 1964, 1985, 2003, 2005
Japan Series championships	1985
Former name(s)	Ōsaka Tigers (1936–1940, Nicknamed "Tigers"), Hanshin (1940–1946), Ōsaka Tigers (1947–1960, Nicknamed "Hanshin")
Colors	white, black and yellow
Logo Design	A tiger's head on a red disk outlined in black, reading "Hanshin Tigers"
Mascot	TO LUCKY (トラッキー, No. 1985) LUCKY (ラッキー, No. 1994)
Manager	Akinobu Mayumi (真弓 明信, No. 72)
Uniforms
Home	Away

The Hanshin Tigers (阪神タイガース, Hanshin Taigāsu^?) are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly. It is the sister team of the American baseball team Detroit Tigers and in Stephen 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. 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. The Tigers' cap logo is very similar to that of the New York Yankees, and they are often seen with similar pinstriped uniforms.

History of the Hanshin Tigers

Kōshien Stadium (in 2007)

The Hanshin Tigers, one 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 "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 each of 2005, 2006 and 2007, over 3 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, 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.

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 Hiroshima Municipal Ballpark (Hiroshima Toyo Carp), and Skymark Stadium in Kobe (part-time home of the newly-merged Orix Buffaloes). Of the three, only Skymark (Kobe) 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.

Koshien Stadium is by far 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 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.

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 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.

Fandom

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 have a reputation for rough behavior and a willingness to brawl with other fans or with each other, although long fights are rare. A famous Tigers 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 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 heavy-handed rules for behavior by visiting fans.

The Tigers-Giants rivalry is considered the national Japanese rivalry, on par with the New York Yankees vs. the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball or Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona in Spanish football.

"The Song of the Hanshin Tigers (阪神タイガースの歌, Hanshin Tigers 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.

Season-by-season

From the Kosaido Publishing Co., Ltd. (株式会社廣済堂出版, Kabushikigaisha Kōsaidō Shuppan^?) guidebook.

Players of note

Current players

• 00 Shuta (秀太) - IF
•  0 Takahiro Shoda (庄田 隆弘) - OF
•  1 Takashi Toritani (鳥谷 敬) - IF
•  2 Toshihiro Noguchi (野口 寿浩) - C
•  3 Kentaro Sekimoto (関本 賢太郎) - IF, Kentaro Sekimoto official website (Japanese)
•  4 Ryan Vogelsong - P
•  5 Keiichi Hirano (平野 恵一) - OF
•  6 Tomoaki Kanemoto (金本 知憲) - OF, Tomoaki Kanemoto official website (Japanese)
•  7 Makoto Imaoka (今岡 誠) - IF, Makoto Imaoka official website (Japanese)
•  8 Ryo Asai (浅井 良) - OF
•  9 Atsushi Fujimoto (藤本 敦士) - IF, Atsushi Fujimoto official website (Japanese)
• 12 Ryo Watanabe (渡辺 亮) - P
• 13 Satoru Kanemura (金村 曉) - P
• 14 Atsushi Nohmi (能見 篤史) - P
• 15 Taiyō (太陽) - P
• 16 Yuya Andoh (安藤 優也) - P
• 18 Naohisa Sugiyama (杉山 直久) - P
• 20 Itsuki Shoda (正田 樹) - P
• 21 Minoru Iwata (岩田 稔) - P
• 22 Kyuji Fujikawa (藤川 球児) - P, Kyuji Fujikawa official website (Japanese)
• 24 Shinjiro Hiyama (桧山 進次郎) - OF, Shinjiro Hiyama official website (Japanese)
• 25 Takahiro Arai (新井 貴浩) - IF
• 26 Hirotaka Egusa (江草 仁貴) - P
• 27 Scott Atchison - P
• 28 Shinobu Fukuhara (福原 忍) - P, Shinobu Fukuhara official website (Japanese)
• 29 Tatsuya Kojima (小嶋 達也) - P
• 30 Tomoyuki Kubota (久保田 智之) - P
• 31 Lin Weichu (林 威助) - OF
• 32 Tadatoki Maeda (前田 忠節) - IF
• 33 Ikuro Katsuragi (葛城 育郎) - OF
• 34 Kentaro Hashimoto (橋本 健太郎) - P
• 35 Katsuhiko Saka (坂 克彦) - IF
• 39 Akihiro Yano (矢野 輝弘) - C, Akihiro Yano official website (Japanese)
• 40 Masashi Sajikihara (桟原 将司) - P
• 41 Keiji Uezono (上園 啓史) - P
• 42 Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi (下柳 剛) - P, Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi official website (Japanese)
• 43 Shinsuke Yamada (山田 真介) - OF
• 44 Toru Fujiwara (藤原 通) - IF
• 50 Mitsunobu Takahashi (高橋 光信) - IF
• 51 Kodai Sakurai (桜井 広大) - OF
• 52 Aarom Baldiris - IF
• 53 Norihiro Akahoshi (赤星 憲広) - OF, Norihiro Akahoshi official website (Japanese)
• 54 Jeff Williams - P, Jeff Williams supporters' website
• 55 Lew Ford - OF
• 56 Kenta Abe (阿部 健太) - P
• 66 Yamato (大和) - IF
• 99 Keisuke Kanoh (狩野 恵輔) - C

Coaching

• 72 Akinobu Mayumi (真弓 明信) - Manager
• 91 Katsuhiko Kido (木戸 克彦) - Head coach
• 82 Yoshiaki Oka (岡 義朗) - Fielding chief coach
• 84 Yasuo Kubo (久保 康生) - Pitching coach
• 85 Takashi Yamaguchi (山口 高志) - Pitching coach
• 86 Yutaka Wada (和田 豊) - Hitting coach
• 87 Yutaka Nakamura (中村 豊) - Hitting coach
• 89 Koji Yamawaki (山脇 光治) - Base coach
• 92 Teruyoshi Kuji (久慈 照嘉) - Base coach
• 81 Yasuo Yoshida (吉田 康夫) - Battery coach
• 74 Atsunori Itoh (伊藤 敦規) - Traning coach

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
• Jamie Brown - P
• Darnell Coles - IF, OF
• Doug Creek - P
• Glenn Davis (Glenn)
• Rob Deer - OF
• Yutaka Enatsu (江夏 豊) - P
• Tom Evans - IF
• Cecil Fielder - IF
• Fumio Fujimura (藤村 富美男) - P, IF, died in 1992
• Taira Fujita - IF (藤田 平)
• Rich Gale - P
• Mike Greenwell - OF
• Shosei Go (呉 昌征) - OF, died in 1987
• 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
• Kei Igawa (井川 慶) - P, Kei Igawa official website (Japanese)
• Atsunori Itoh (伊藤 敦規) - P
• Mark Johnson - IF, OF
• Masaru Kageura (景浦 將) - OF, IF, P, died in 1945
• Masayuki Kakefu (掛布 雅之) - IF
• Tsutomu Kameyama (亀山 努, 亀山 つとむ) - OF Tsutomu Kameyama official website (Japanese)
• Atsushi Kataoka (片岡 篤史) - IF, Atsushi Kataoka official website (Japanese)
• 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, died in 1986
• Darrell May - P
• Akinobu Mayumi (真弓 明信) - IF, OF (Present: the maneger of the Tigers)
• 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
• Ramon Morel - P
• Minoru Murayama (村山 実) - P, died in 1998
• Rodney Myers - P
• Yutaka Nakamura (中村 豊) - OF
• Kiyooki Nakanishi (中西 清起) - P
• Akinobu Okada (岡田 彰布) - IF
• Tom O'Malley - IF
• Chris Oxspring - P
• Eduardo Perez - IF
• Larry Parrish - IF
• 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) - C
• Tony Tarasco - OF
• Katsunori Tomari (渡真利 克則) - IF, OF, PH, (an umpire in the Central League)
• Shoji Toyama (遠山 奬志) - P
• 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 (Japanese)
• Tadashi Wakabayashi (若林 忠志) - P
• Craig Worthington - IF
• Marvell Wynne - OF
• Keiichi Yabu (藪 恵壹) - P
• Hiroshi Yagi (八木 裕) - IF, PH
• Kazuhiro Yamauchi (山内 一弘) - OF
• 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)
• Nikkan Sports (日刊スポーツ, Kansai edition)
• Sankei Sports (サンケイスポーツ, Kansai edition)
• Sports Nippon (スポーツニッポン, Kansai edition)

Broadcasting stations

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

See also

• Central League
• Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group - Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd.

External links

• (Japanese) Hanshin Tigers official web site