Baseball: Big-hitting Carp clinch 8th CL pennant

A year after clinching their first Central League pennant in 26 years, the Hiroshima Carp on Monday made it two straight for the first time in 37 years.The pennant is the eighth for a franchise, whose current strength and stability belie its humble origins as an underfunded CL doormat in 1950.Although the Carp are known most for their speed, what has set them apart the past two seasons has been their offense."The area where they excel is in their ability to score runs," Hanshin Tigers manager Tomoaki Kanemoto said. "There is a huge difference in the number of home runs they hit, and their s…READ FULL ARTICLE