Sheldon Neuse caught the ball that ended the drought.
The Hanshin Tigers watched nearly every other team in Japanese baseball win the Japan Series as their own wait stretched on beyond 10, 20 and even 30 years. The fog began to clear when Neuse drove in four runs against the Orix Buffaloes in Game 7 of this year’s Japan Series on Sunday night, and the wait finally, mercifully for many longtime Tigers fans, ended when Neuse reached up and caught Yutaro Sugimoto’s fly ball to left field.
"I looked at (Koji) Chikamoto, he didn't say anything, so I called him off and I put it right in my pocket," Neuse said.