1978 Nankai Hawks Roster
Japan Pacific League (JPPL) - Class: Foreign Major
Team Record: 42-77
Finished 6th in the JPPL
Manager: Yoshinori Hirose (42-77)
Location: Osaka, Japan
Ballpark: Osaka Stadium
1978 Nankai Hawks StatisticsTeam Record: 42-77
Finished 6th in the JPPL
Manager: Yoshinori Hirose (42-77)
Location: Osaka, Japan
Ballpark: Osaka Stadium
The Nankai Hawks of the Japan Pacific League ended the 1978 season with a record of 42 wins and 77 losses, finishing sixth in the JPPL.
The Hawks plated 408 runs, worst in the circuit, and conceded 568 runs. Hiromitsu Kadota and Shinsaku Katahira paced Nankai with 15 home runs apiece. Carlos May drove in 80 runs and topped all qualifying hitters on the roster with a .312 average. Manabu Fujita led the team with 16 wins and a team-best 2.88 ERA, leading hurlers with significant time on the mound.
Carlos May and Bobby Tolan both played in Major League Baseball during their careers.
Yoshinori Hirose served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiromasa Arai | L | R | April 26, 1952 | 5'9" | 145 | Higashinari Ward, Osaka JP |
| Manabu Fujita | R | R | May 9, 1955 | 6'0" | 190 | Minami Uwa-gun, Ehime JP |
| Mitsuru Fujiwara | R | R | September 18, 1946 | 5'10" | 170 | Matsuyama, Ehime JP |
| Toshihiro Hayashi | S | L | April 6, 1944 | 5'9" | 191 | Nagoya, Aichi JP |
| Takayoshi Hirasawa | L | L | July 30, 1953 | 5'10" | 176 | Ichinomiya, Aichi JP |
| Kazuto Horii | R | R | March 15, 1948 | 6'0" | 165 | Osaka, Osaka JP |
| Hidetaka Hoshino | L | L | November 26, 1949 | 5'10" | 154 | , Gunma JP |
| Toru Ikenoue | R | R | May 19, 1954 | 6'0" | 180 | Tarumizu, Kagoshima JP |
| Hiromitsu Kadota | L | L | February 26, 1948 | 5'7" | 178 | Onoda, Yamaguchi JP |
| Motoyasu Kaneshiro | R | R | October 16, 1952 | 5'10" | 171 | , Osaka JP |
| Shinsaku Katahira | L | L | August 5, 1949 | 6'0" | 171 | Minato Ward, Osaka JP |
| Takayuki Kono | R | R | April 18, 1955 | 5'10" | 165 | Yawatahama, Ehime JP |
| Yuji Kubodera | R | R | July 18, 1958 | 5'9" | 158 | Tagata-gun, Shizuoka JP |
| Masahiro Kuroda | R | R | December 21, 1947 | 5'9" | 171 | Himeji, Hyogo JP |
| Yoshiyuki Matsumoto | R | R | February 13, 1952 | 5'9" | 167 | Yawata-machi, Gifu JP |
| Carlos May | L | R | May 17, 1948 | 5'11" | 200 | Birmingham, AL US |
| Masumitsu Moriguchi | R | R | July 20, 1953 | 5'11" | 176 | Yao, Osaka JP |
| Etsuo Murakami | R | R | April 10, 1950 | 5'8" | 162 | , Miyazaki JP |
| Yukihiro Murakami | R | R | September 9, 1956 | 6'0" | 165 | , Tochigi JP |
| Kenji Nakade | R | R | November 3, 1954 | 5'9" | 158 | Wakayama, Wakayama JP |
| Yoshihito Oda | R | R | May 22, 1947 | 5'10" | 167 | Shizuoka, Shizuoka JP |
| Chiaki Sadaoka | R | R | June 17, 1953 | 6'0" | 178 | Kagoshima, Kagoshima JP |
| Takashi Sakata | S | R | July 9, 1950 | 5'10" | 165 | , Wakayama JP |
| Teruhide Sakurai | R | R | April 12, 1948 | 5'8" | 158 | Sumoto, Hyogo JP |
| Koichiro Sasaki | R | R | August 30, 1943 | 6'0" | 182 | , Gifu JP |
| Michiro Sato | R | R | May 5, 1947 | 5'11" | 191 | Nakano Ward, Tokyo JP |
| Hisao Sugita | R | R | March 15, 1949 | 6'0" | 170 | , Shizuoka JP |
| Mitsuo Tateishi | R | R | December 6, 1957 | 5'8" | 165 | Izumi, Osaka JP |
| Bobby Tolan | L | L | November 19, 1945 | 5'11" | 170 | Los Angeles, CA US |
| Yoshiaki Toyama | L | L | July 30, 1947 | 5'7" | 165 | Gojo, Nara JP |
| Shigeki Tsurusaki | R | R | July 25, 1953 | 5'7" | 158 | Fukuoka, Fukuoka JP |
| Takuzo Ueda | L | L | July 12, 1948 | 5'9" | 160 | , Fukuoka JP |
| Toru Wada | R | R | July 27, 1945 | 5'10" | 193 | Sakai, Osaka JP |
| Masao Yamamoto | R | R | August 12, 1953 | 6'0" | 167 | Kobe, Hyogo JP |
| Shinichi Yamauchi | R | R | December 3, 1947 | 5'11" | 178 | Ota, Shimane JP |
| Nobuo Yonetani | R | R | May 3, 1950 | 5'9" | 154 | , Osaka JP |
