Leaders of the pack: Hanshin Tigers ふれふれふれ！

While MLB teams resume their play after the Allstar break their Japanese counterparts still have a few days to go before they play their version of the Midsummer Classic. And on both sides of the Pacific it seems that two teams are giving it their best shot at the championship in a long time. The Chicago Cubs lead their division although they lost yesterday to the Houston Astros. In Japan the Hanshin Tigers （阪神タイガース）are on a mission it seems. Their record reads 55 wins, 27 losses, 1 draw which not only is the best record in Japanese baseball (The Pacific League leaders Seibu Lions stand at 47-38-1), but it also gives them an 11.5 games lead over their archrivals, the Yomiuri Giants. The Tigers haven’t won a championship in the Japan Series since 1985 and that was their only title. Last year they lost in the first round of the Central League Climax Series to the Chunichi Dragons who would go on to win the championship. Before the start to this year’s season I was reading through some blogs and most writers weren’t conviced the Tigers would perform well. Now I have absolutely no insight into Japanese baseball because it’s almost impossible to watch any games abroad. Their used to be a very good YouTube channel which put up the innings of Tigers games shortly after they finished playing the match but that somehow died down for whatever reason there was. I was able to watch at least one game against the Giants in which the Tigers came from behind, that was a very thrilling experience.

So anyway, it seems that this year might see some surprises in baseball. Wouldn’t it be nice to have teams win who haven’t won in a long time? I wonder what they would do in Osaka when the Tigers bring home the trophy. I read somewhere that in 1985 the whole city went nuts. The Tigers’ fans seem to be the most fanatic and radical ones in Japanese baseball and they sometimes get very rowdy. Although when those things get out of hand I still like the passion people put into supporting their team. Just look for “Hanshin Tigers Fans” on YouTube and you get a huge number of videos showing those crazy people. Just as crazy maybe as the young woman on the picture there. I believe they use those mini bats to create a huge noise at the stadium. If I ever make it to Japan I absolutely want to visit a Tigers game at Koushien Stadium (甲子園). The national Highschool tournament will start in August and I’m really looking forward to watching the games again.

While talking about the Japanese version of baseball, “Yakyuu” (野球), here’s a brilliant blog which keeps track of what’s happening in both Japanese leagues. NPB Tracker gives you a brilliant insight into Japanese professional baseball as well as into what’s happening with Japanese players in MLB.