On the 17th, marking the 31st anniversary of the Great Hanshin Tigers-Awaji Earthquake, Orix Buffaloes held a minute of silence at Sugimoto Shoji BS in Maishima, Osaka, from noon. About 30 people, including team president Udone, general manager Fukura, manager Kishida, and players, quietly closed their eyes, facing the direction of Kobe.
After the earthquake, the Kobe-based Orix Buffaloes BlueWave baseball team, with the slogan "Let's do our best, Kobe," won consecutive league championships in 1995 and 1996. Manager Kishida, who was a first-year junior high school student at the time, experienced the violent shaking at his home in Suita, Osaka.
"I was woken up by a big tremor early in the morning. I still remember seeing on TV images of the collapsed highway and fires. I prayed for the repose of the souls of those who passed away, and this year I remembered the time of 'Ganbarou Kobe' and observed a moment of silence with the intention of trying even harder," he said with a solemn expression. "No matter how many years have passed, I think there are still many people who are suffering. I want to create more time for those people to forget their pain, and more time for us to be passionate about baseball," he said, renewing his resolve.
GM Fukura, who played as a key player at the time, recalled, "It's a day I'll never forget...January 17th. I must never forget that day, and I can't forget it. When I saw the state of that town, I wondered if we could really start the season, if we could play baseball..." Even so, many fans continued to flock to Kobe's home stadium every day. "When I saw that, I was really happy. Everyone was having a harder time than me, but they supported me that much. It wasn't just the players' power. I think that kind of (invisible) force was at work," he said, reaffirming the power of support.
In 2026, six games are scheduled to be held at Hotto Kobe: against Rakuten Eagles on June 27th and 28th, and against Seibu Lions on July 3rd and 4th, and September 9th and 10th. In light of the 2025 season, in which the team finished with two wins and three losses in five games, the manager declared, "We have to fight with the intention of winning every game." He added, "We have to win so that our supporters will be happy," as he looked ahead to the first victory parade in Kobe since 2023.
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