Debate Heats Up Among Hanshin Tigers Alumni and Sportswriters if Manager Okada Can Handle It with Allenpa
The Tigers have not been able to add much to their strength. The team's defensive rating is No. 1, but the main gun can't hit, can't score, can't defend. ...... There's not a shred of the momentum from last season, but they're still in contention for the top spot in the Central League.
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot, oh man. The guy batting third has a terribly low batting average, you know. No matter who bats there, it just doesn’t work out.”
After securing their first series win in three games with the May 12th game against DeNA, returning the Hanshin Tigers to the top spot, Manager Akifumi Okada (66) complained to the press after the match.
In any case, we can’t hit.
The famed manager of the Tigers, who stirred up a whirlwind of excitement across the archipelago with Donden Magic and led them to their first championship in 38 years, was troubled. Second-year slugger Shota Morishita (23), who had been batting third since the opening, had fluctuated around a .230 batting average. The team, somehow holding onto the top spot, relinquished it to the new Giants on the 11th. On the 12th, Manager Okada, in a desperate move, placed leadoff man Koji Chikamoto (29) in the new third spot, but he ended up with 0 hits in 4 at-bats.
“Chikamoto, you know. I’ve been saying it for a while now. Don’t say Nakano (Takumu, 27) at 2nd, Chikamoto at 3rd. Can’t do it the same way as last year.”
Last year’s pattern of Chikamoto at leadoff, Nakano at second, and cleaning up which led to a landslide victory with a gap of over 10 games against second-place Hiroshima, has been nearly impossible to replicate, leaving Hanshin in dire straits.
“It’s not just Morishita who’s struggling to hit. Yusuke Oyama (29), batting fourth, has a batting average in the low .200s, and Teruaki Sato (25) can barely reach .200, experiencing the humiliation of being dropped from the starting lineup. The lackluster performance of the cleanup hitters is affecting the team’s morale. The team batting average is .229, second worst in the league (as of May 12, numbers are the same below). With a series of low-scoring games, the pitching staff will also be burdened. Frankly, it’s quite surprising that we’re still in first place.” (From Mr. A, a sports newspaper reporter for the Tigers)
Are the Tigers leading the race by chance? Or is it inevitable? Can they really achieve the “Allenpa”? We asked team officials, former players, and Tigers reporters for their candid opinions.
