Hanshin Tigers ready to roar in 2010

With the Year of Tiger now underway, the owner of Kansai’s Hanshin ball club, conveniently bearing the same nickname, is already on the prowl for the Central League crown, reports tabloid Daily Sports (Jan. 4).

Shinya Sakai, the 61-year-old president of Hanshin Electric Railway, the team’s parent, said that on his first day of work this year (Jan. 4) that he visited shrines in the Kobe area on January 1, during what is referred to as hatsumode, or first visit, to pray for a Tiger title.

“Nagata, Ikuta, Minatogawa — I took the train to visit all of them, situated along the rail line,” said the club’s “general” in charge.

Besides these three major shrines in Kobe, he also paid a visit to one close to his residence to further ensure that his wish will be realized. In the past, he had skipped some shrines “when the trains were packed,” but this year he went all out “because I am going there to pray for the Central League pennant to return to the Tigers.”

It is usual for Sakai to pray as a part of the team just prior to Opening Day, but as far as his private time, this is his first victory vigil in 5 years.

He, however, refrained from picking up an omikuji (a fortune written on a strip of paper) as he “usually picks the worst one.” But, “everything is about the Tiger as this is the Year of Tiger” and he sounds delighted, already envisioning a Tiger triumph in the fall. (A.T.)

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