Website: Hanshin Tigers
Date Visited: Sept 9, 2010
Random Notes:
No National Anthem was sung at this game.
When a relief pitcher comes out to the mound to throw out his warm up pitches, the pitching coach remains with him while performing that exercise. This was common in all teams and is different than MLB.
I found the seats at this stadium were extremely small. Made for the tiny people of Japan, not for the bigger American fans. From a seating comfort perspective, this was the most uncomfortable for me on this trip.
Hanshin Stadium in Nishinomiya is southwest of the Tokyo area. Yes, we did a bit of traveling throughout Japan this trip.
It was all good.
Yes, an all dirt infield. Real grass.
Another website I was reading said this stadium had visible bullpens but I didn't see them.
There was a major renovation to the stadium recently. My understanding is it was pretty much a dump prior to the renovation. It's not like that now.
Hanshin Koshien Stadium is also the site of the summer high school baseball tournament every August.
They did the balloon celebration here. I, of course, participated.
In this photo, you can certainly tell in which section the visiting team sat.
I liked this balloon celebration the best because the balloons were a variety of colors and because 80 or 90 percent of the fans participated. One bought the balloons at a souvenir shop for just a few bucks (200 yen, maybe).
The entire Tiger fan base participated!!
As mentioned on previous pages, the NPB teams have cheering sections. Whole sections with drums and trumpets. Each player has a chant or song they sing. At this stadium, the entire fan base sung/chanted the songs - not just the official cheering section. They just started it.
Take a listen. It's 1 min, 12 secs long.
This song is for Johjima - the catcher for the Tigers. It was one of my favorites.
A formidable scoreboard.
All scoreboards in NPB had clocks and flags.
Final Score: Hanshin Tigers = 2, Chunichi Dragons = 2. Tied.
Yes, the games in Japan end in a tie if, after 12 innings, the score is the same.
A tough rule particularly this game, close to the end of the season and the Tigers were in 1st place and the Dragons in 2nd place for the Central League.
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