DERBY DAYS NIPPON PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL Hanshin Tigers v Yomiuri GiantsIt's a rivalry full of passion, plots and subplots - and for millions of baseball fans it knocks the socks off the Red Sox and the Yankees, writes Damian Cullen

THE GREATEST sporting rivalry in the world? The New York Yankees versus the Boston Red Sox is the choice of many. Well, we're not so sure anymore. In fact, we're not even certain that pairing is even the greatest rivalry in baseball.

That honour, perhaps, should go to Japan's greatest sporting rivals, the Tokyo-based Yomiuri Giants - commonly known as Japan's Yankees - and the Hanshin Tigers, a team based between the neighbouring cities of Osaka and Kobe - and therefore with a potential support base that also runs into the millions.

In the formative years of both clubs it was the Tigers (then called the Osaka Tigers) that dominated, winning several Japanese championships immediately before and after the second World War. However, by the time the two-league (Central League - which includes both the Giants and the Tigers - and Pacific League) Japanese baseball season was established in 1950, the pendulum had swung firmly in Tokyo's direction.

While Tokyo dominated in Japan - politically, economically and culturally - it was also now unrivalled in sporting terms. After briefly threatening to re-emerge as credible opponents for the Tokyo team in the early 1960s, the Tigers became accustomed to living in their shadow. And, starting in 1965, the Yomiuri Giants claimed the Central League title nine years in succession - and in each of those seasons also took home the Japan Series crown.

Those years only strengthened the resentment felt around the home ground of the Hanshin Tigers. Bizarrely, it turned out that what they were waiting for was an American.

After six years (and five teams) in the USA's Major Leagues, Randy Bass, a relatively anonymous first baseman, made a career-defining decision and moved to Japan - signing for the Tigers.

Two seasons later, in 1985, he was the primary reason the Tigers won the Japan Series for the first (and so far only) time. In fact, Bass was on track to break the league's record of 55 home runs in a season, coming into the final game against the Yomiuri Giants just one short.

The record-holder was Sadaharu Oh, manager of the Giants, and so it was no surprise when the Tokyo team's pitcher threw only "intentional walks" to deny Bass the record.

It mattered little in Osaka. The Central League and Japan Series titles were secured and Osaka partied. And we mean partied.

Even a train was hijacked.

If the Yomiuri Giants are known as the New York Yankees of Japan - mainly because of their success and their nationwide popularity (and unpopularity) - then perhaps it is appropriate the Hanshin Tigers have their version of the Boston Red Sox' "Curse of the Bambino" (the superstition that selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees was the reason the Red Sox failed to win the World Series for 86 years).

The story goes that during the wild celebrations that greeted the 1985 triumph the fans gathered by Osaka's Dotonbori canal and made a ceremonial roll call of the entire Hanshin Tigers roster; as each name was called out, a punter deemed or claiming to look most like the player in question jumped (or was thrown) into the filthy waters on cue.

The problem arose when the master of ceremonies came to Bass. Not surprisingly, none of the Osaka natives could pass for the bearded Oklahoman.

Unwilling to admit defeat, some volunteers commandeered the life-sized statue of Colonel Sanders from the local KFC, and before he knew what was happening, the colonel was under water.

And so began the "Curse of the Colonel" and two decades of failure by the Osaka team. Several attempts - all in vain - were even made by fans to retrieve Colonel Sanders from the canal.

Like the Red Sox, however, the the Tigers have, in recent seasons, returned to winning ways. So much so that KFC outlets in Osaka have begun to bring their Colonel Sanders statues inside during late-season games. Though not the one closest to the Dotonbori canal. That statue is bolted to the pavement.

Incidently, Bass - now the Democratic state senator from Oklahoma - was actually known as Basu during his five years in Japan, because his name is Japanese for bus. As the owner of the Hanshin Tigers owned a bus company, the name change was requested to avoid newspapers headlines such as "Bus crashes".

While their fourth and fifth Central League pennants have been claimed by the Tigers in 2003 and 2005, they have not yet added to their sole Japanese Series title.

Today, the oldest professional team in Japan are visiting the Koshien Stadium to play their biggest rivals.

It's the halfway stage of the NPB season, and the Tigers are sitting atop the Central League table, with the Giants in close pursuit.

Last year some three-million spectators attended the Tigers' home games, and today the 55,000-capacity stadium is a guaranteed sell-out, despite supporters being restricted to a maximum of two tickets each (rather than the usual five), which reflects the attractiveness of this fixture.

Still think there's nothing like the Yankees versus the Red Sox?