What is Hanshin Tigers?

Hanshin Tigers
League	Central League
Location	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 Okada (岡田 彰布, No. 80)
Uniforms
Home	Away

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 Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan's 2004 book , 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

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.

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.

Trivia

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 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)", 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 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

The Song of the Hanshin Tigers (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 Hooray, Hooray, Hooray, Hooray! 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 Hooray, Hooray, Hooray, Hooray!

Season-by-season

From the Nippon Sports Publishing Co., Ltd. (株式会社日本スポーツ出版社) guidebook.

Season	Place	Manager
Former Japanese Baseball League
Spring 1936	Did not place	Shigeo Mori (森 茂雄, Shigeo Mori)
Summer 1936	Did not place	Shigeo Mori (森 茂雄, Shigeo Mori)
Autumn 1936	2nd	Shuichi Ishimoto (石本 秀一, Shuichi Ishimoto)
Spring 1937	2nd	Shuichi Ishimoto (石本 秀一, Shuichi Ishimoto)
Autumn 1937	1st (League Champion)	Shuichi Ishimoto (石本 秀一, Shuichi Ishimoto)
Spring 1938	1st (League Champion)	Shuichi Ishimoto (石本 秀一, Shuichi Ishimoto)
Autumn 1938	2nd	Shuichi Ishimoto (石本 秀一, Shuichi Ishimoto)
1939	2nd	Shuichi Ishimoto (石本 秀一, Shuichi Ishimoto)
1940	2nd	Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎, Kenjiro Matsuki)
1941	5th	Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎, Kenjiro Matsuki)
1942	3rd	Tadashi Wakabayashi (若林 忠志, Tadashi Wakabayashi)
1943	3rd	Tadashi Wakabayashi (若林 忠志, Tadashi Wakabayashi)
1944	1st (League Champion)	Tadashi Wakabayashi (若林 忠志, Tadashi Wakabayashi)
1945	No league play
1946	3rd	Fumio Fujimura (藤村 富美男, Fumio Fujimura)
1947	1st (League Champion)	Tadashi Wakabayashi (若林 忠志, Tadashi Wakabayashi)
1948	3rd	Tadashi Wakabayashi (若林 忠志, Tadashi Wakabayashi)
1949	6th	Tadashi Wakabayashi (若林 忠志, Tadashi Wakabayashi)
In the Central League
1950	4th	Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎, Kenjiro Matsuki)
1951	3rd	Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎, Kenjiro Matsuki)
1952	2nd	Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎, Kenjiro Matsuki)
1953	2nd	Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎, Kenjiro Matsuki)
1954	3rd	Kenjiro Matsuki (松木 謙治郎, Kenjiro Matsuki)
1955	3rd	Ichiro Kishi (岸 一郎, Ichiro Kishi) → Fumio Fujimura (藤村 富美男, Fumio Fujimura)
1956	2nd	Fumio Fujimura (藤村 富美男, Fumio Fujimura)
1957	2nd	Fumio Fujimura (藤村 富美男, Fumio Fujimura)
1958	2nd	Yoshio Tanaka (田中 義雄, Yoshio Tanaka)
1959	2nd	Yoshio Tanaka (田中 義雄, Yoshio Tanaka)
1960	3rd	Masayasu Kaneda (金田 正泰, Masayasu Kaneda)
1961	4th	Masayasu Kaneda (金田 正泰, Masayasu Kaneda) → Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義, Sadayoshi Fujimoto)
1962	1st (League Champion)	Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義, Sadayoshi Fujimoto)
1963	3rd	Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義, Sadayoshi Fujimoto)
1964	1st (League Champion)	Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義, Sadayoshi Fujimoto)
1965	3rd	Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義, Sadayoshi Fujimoto)
1966	3rd	Shigeru Sugishita (杉下 茂, Shigeru Sugishita) → Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義, Sadayoshi Fujimoto)
1967	3rd	Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義, Sadayoshi Fujimoto)
1968	2nd	Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義, Sadayoshi Fujimoto)
1969	2nd	Tsuguo Goto (後藤 次男, Tsuguo Goto)
1970	2nd	Minoru Murayama (村山 実, Minoru Murayama)
1971	5th	Minoru Murayama (村山 実, Minoru Murayama)
1972	2nd	Minoru Murayama (村山 実, Minoru Murayama) (- April 21) → Masayasu Kaneda (金田 正泰, Masayasu Kaneda) (April 22 -)
1973	2nd	Masayasu Kaneda (金田 正泰, Masayasu Kaneda)
1974	4th	Masayasu Kaneda (金田 正泰, Masayasu Kaneda)
1975	3rd	Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男, Yoshio Yoshida)
1976	2nd	Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男, Yoshio Yoshida)
1977	4th	Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男, Yoshio Yoshida)
1978	6th (last place)	Tsuguo Goto (後藤 次男, Tsuguo Goto)
1979	4th	Don Blasingame (Don Blazer)
1980	5th	Don Blasingame (Don Blazer) → Futoshi Nakanishi (中西 太, Futoshi Nakanishi)
1981	3rd	Futoshi Nakanishi (中西 太, Futoshi Nakanishi)
1982	3rd	Motoo Andoh (安藤 統男, Motoo Andoh) Takao Sato (佐藤 孝夫, Takao Sato) (June 13 - June 15)
1983	4th	Motoo Andoh (安藤 統男, Motoo Andoh)
1984	4th	Motoo Andoh (安藤 統男, Motoo Andoh)
1985	1st (League Champion) Japan Series Champion	Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男, Yoshio Yoshida)
1986	3rd	Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男, Yoshio Yoshida)
1987	6th (last place)	Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男, Yoshio Yoshida)
1988	6th (last place)	Minoru Murayama (村山 実, Minoru Murayama)
1989	5th	Minoru Murayama (村山 実, Minoru Murayama)
1990	6th (last place)	Katsuhiro Nakamura (中村 勝広, Katsuhiro Nakamura)
1991	6th (last place)	Katsuhiro Nakamura (中村 勝広, Katsuhiro Nakamura)
1992	2nd	Katsuhiro Nakamura (中村 勝広, Katsuhiro Nakamura)
1993	4th	Katsuhiro Nakamura (中村 勝広, Katsuhiro Nakamura)
1994	4th	Katsuhiro Nakamura (中村 勝広, Katsuhiro Nakamura)
1995	6th (last place)	Katsuhiro Nakamura (中村 勝広, Katsuhiro Nakamura) (- July 23) → Taira Fujita (藤田 平, Taira Fujita) (July 24 -)
1996	6th (last place)	Taira Fujita (藤田 平, Taira Fujita) (- September 11) → Takeshi Shibata (柴田 猛, Takeshi Shibata) (September 12 -)
1997	5th	Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男, Yoshio Yoshida)
1998	6th (last place)	Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男, Yoshio Yoshida)
1999	6th (last place)	Katsuya Nomura (野村 克也, Katsuya Nomura)
2000	6th (last place)	Katsuya Nomura (野村 克也, Katsuya Nomura)
2001	6th (last place)	Katsuya Nomura (野村 克也, Katsuya Nomura)
2002	4th	Senichi Hoshino (星野 仙一, Senichi Hoshino)
2003	1st (League Champion)	Senichi Hoshino (星野 仙一, Senichi Hoshino)
2004	4th	Akinobu Okada (岡田 彰布, Akinobu Okada)
2005	1st (League Champion)	Akinobu Okada (岡田 彰布, Akinobu Okada)
2006	2nd	Akinobu Okada (岡田 彰布, Akinobu Okada)
2007	3rd (the right to play in the Climax Series 1st Stage)	Akinobu Okada (岡田 彰布, Akinobu Okada)

Players of note

Current players

• 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 (Japanese)
•  4 Andy Sheets - IF
•  5 Osamu Hamanaka (濱中 治) - OF, Osamu Hamanaka official website (Japanese)
•  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) - C
•  9 Atsushi Fujimoto (藤本 敦士) - IF, Atsushi Fujimoto official website (Japanese)
• 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 Ando (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 Ryo Watanabe (渡辺 亮) - P
• 26 Hirotaka Egusa (江草 仁貴) - 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 Weitsu (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
• 36 Ryan Vogelsong - P
• 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 Taichiro Kamisaka (上坂 太一郎) - IF
• 44 Toru Fujiwara (藤原 通) - IF
• 47 Makoto Yoshino (吉野 誠) - P
• 50 Mitsunobu Takahashi (高橋 光信) - IF
• 51 Kodai Sakurai (桜井 広大) - OF
• 52 Masato Akamatsu (赤松 真人) - OF
• 53 Norihiro Akahoshi (赤星 憲広) - OF, Norihiro Akahoshi official website (Japanese)
• 54 Jeff Williams - P, Jeff Williams supporters' website
• 55 Shinsuke Yamada (山田 真介) - OF
• 59 Darwin Cubillan (Darwin) - P
• 64 Takahiro Shoda (庄田 隆弘) - OF
• 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
• 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
• 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)
• 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 Kawatoh (川藤 幸三) - PH, OF
• Matt Keough - P
• 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
• 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
• Romon Morel - P
• Minoru Murayama (村山 実) - P, died in 1998
• Rodney Myers - P
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)

*Sankei Sports (サンケイスポーツ, Kansai)

*Sports Nippon (スポーツニッポン, Kansai)

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)

*Television Osaka, Inc. (TVO, テレビ大阪)

See also

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

External links

• (Japanese) Hanshin Tigers official web site

Nippon Professional Baseball
Central League			Pacific League
Yomiuri Giants	Chunichi Dragons	Tokyo Yakult Swallows	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles	Chiba Lotte Marines
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	Hanshin Tigers	Yokohama BayStars	Seibu Lions	Orix Buffaloes	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Japan Series - Japanese Baseball League (former) - Eastern League - Western League-