2008 Saitama Seibu Lions Roster
Team Record: 76-64
Finished 1st in the JPPL
Manager: Hisanobu Watanabe (76-64)
Location: Tokorozawa, Japan
Ballpark: MetLife Dome
Playoffs - Saitama Seibu Lions 4 games, Nippon Ham Fighters 2
Japan Series - Saitama Seibu Lions 4 games, Yomiuri Giants 3
The Saitama Seibu Lions of the Japan Pacific League ended the 2008 season with a record of 76 wins and 64 losses, finishing first in the JPPL.
The Seibu Lions scored 715 runs, most in the league. Saitama yielded 626 runs. Takeya Nakamura walloped 46 home runs for the team, while Hiram Bocachica, Toru Hosokawa, Takahiko Sato, Craig Brazell and Hiroyuki Nakajima each added 15 or more, too. Takeya Nakamura accounted for 101 RBI. Hiroyuki Nakajima topped all qualifying hitters on the roster by connecting at a .331 clip. Takayuki Kishi led the squad with 12 wins, and Kazuyuki Hoashi registered a 2.63 earned run average, tops among pitchers with enough qualifying appearances.
Players from the 2008 Saitama Seibu Lions who spent time in the Majors during their careers included Alex Graman, Kazuhisa Ishii, Matt Kinney, Craig Brazell and Hiram Bocachica.
Hisanobu Watanabe served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shogo Akada | S | R | September 1, 1980 | 5'10" | 183 | Soo-gun, Kagoshima JP |
| Hiram Bocachica | R | R | March 4, 1976 | 5'11" | 195 | Ponce, PR |
| Craig Brazell | L | R | May 10, 1980 | 6'3" | 210 | Montgomery, AL US |
| Akira Eto | R | R | April 15, 1970 | 6'0" | 209 | Higashi Yamato, Tokyo JP |
| Taketoshi Goto | R | R | June 5, 1980 | 5'9" | 185 | Hamamatsu, Shizuoka JP |
| Alex Graman | L | L | November 17, 1977 | 6'4" | 210 | Huntingburg, IN US |
| Takuya Hara | L | R | May 18, 1984 | 5'9" | 165 | Yokohama, Kanagawa JP |
| Masamitsu Hirano | R | R | June 28, 1983 | 6'1" | 176 | Kawaguchi, Saitama JP |
| Hiroshi Hirao | R | R | December 31, 1975 | 5'9" | 168 | |
| Kazuyuki Hoashi | L | L | July 15, 1979 | 5'11" | 170 | Ogori, Fukuoka JP |
| Hidekazu Hoshi | L | R | November 10, 1986 | 5'11" | 165 | Maebashi, Gunma JP |
| Tomoki Hoshino | L | L | July 29, 1977 | 5'10" | 163 | Inabe-gun, Mie JP |
| Toru Hosokawa | R | R | January 4, 1980 | 6'2" | 210 | Higashi Tsugaru-gun, Aomori JP |
| Ming Chieh Hsu | R | R | December 1, 1976 | 6'0" | 198 | |
| Kazuhisa Ishii | L | L | September 9, 1973 | 6'0" | 215 | Chiba, Chiba JP |
| Yoshihito Ishii | L | R | July 12, 1978 | 5'10" | 181 | Kawaguchi, Saitama JP |
| Tetsuya Iwasaki | R | R | October 13, 1982 | 6'0" | 205 | Fukaya, Saitama JP |
| Yasuyuki Kataoka | R | R | February 17, 1983 | 5'9" | 180 | Chiba, Chiba JP |
| Matt Kinney | R | R | December 16, 1976 | 6'5" | 220 | Bangor, ME US |
| Takayuki Kishi | R | R | December 4, 1984 | 5'11" | 150 | Sendai, Miyagi JP |
| Takumi Kuriyama | L | R | September 3, 1983 | 5'10" | 187 | Kobe, Hyogo JP |
| Haruki Kurose | R | R | April 15, 1985 | 5'11" | 175 | Gifu, Gifu JP |
| Kenta Matsusaka | R | R | August 16, 1985 | 6'2" | 190 | Osaka, Osaka JP |
| Koji Mitsui | L | L | September 15, 1973 | 6'0" | 190 | Ashoro-gun, Hokkaido JP |
| Taka Miura | R | R | May 21, 1978 | 5'11" | 176 | Yono, Saitama JP |
| Keisuke Mizuta | R | R | November 4, 1980 | 5'9" | 154 | Osaka, Osaka JP |
| Hiroyuki Nakajima | R | R | July 31, 1982 | 5'11" | 200 | Itami, Hyogo JP |
| Takeya Nakamura | R | R | August 15, 1983 | 5'9" | 225 | Daito, Osaka JP |
| Fumiya Nishiguchi | R | R | September 26, 1972 | 6'0" | 170 | Wakayama, Wakayama JP |
| Kosuke Noda | R | R | December 4, 1977 | 5'11" | 198 | Yashiro, Kumamoto JP |
| Atsushi Okamoto | R | R | May 20, 1981 | 5'10" | 168 | Nabari, Mie JP |
| Shinya Okamoto | R | R | October 21, 1974 | 6'0" | 209 | Takeno-gun, Kyoto JP |
| Chikara Onodera | R | R | November 26, 1980 | 6'2" | 203 | Kumagai, Saitama JP |
| Koji Onuma | R | R | July 3, 1979 | 5'10" | 179 | Higashi Osaka, Osaka JP |
| Shuichiro Osada | R | R | May 6, 1980 | 5'10" | 176 | Yokohama, Kanagawa JP |
| Yutaro Osaki | L | R | October 18, 1984 | 5'7" | 168 | Tsukuba, Ibaraki JP |
| Hiroyuki Oshima | L | L | June 15, 1981 | 5'11" | 187 | Omiya, Saitama JP |
| Takahiko Sato | R | R | August 9, 1978 | 6'2" | 220 | Ichikawa, Chiba JP |
| Tomoaki Sato | R | R | June 13, 1978 | 5'10" | 187 | Fujisawa, Kanagawa JP |
| Eiji Shotsu | R | R | November 13, 1972 | 5'8" | 168 | Ono, Fukui JP |
| Ginjiro Sumitani | R | R | July 19, 1987 | 5'11" | 205 | Kyoto, Kyoto JP |
| Hiroyuki Takagi | L | R | October 14, 1972 | 5'8" | 150 | Inazawa, Aichi JP |
| Hisashi Takayama | R | R | November 16, 1981 | 5'10" | 185 | Kumamoto, Kumamoto JP |
| Shinji Taninaka | R | R | May 15, 1973 | 5'9" | 176 | Kaizuka, Osaka JP |
| Tatsuyuki Uemoto | L | R | November 8, 1980 | 6'1" | 203 | Ube, Yamaguchi JP |
| Hideaki Wakui | R | R | June 21, 1986 | 6'1" | 187 | Matsudo, Chiba JP |
| Minoru Yamagishi | R | R | August 17, 1982 | 5'9" | 170 | Sabae, Fukui JP |
| Satoshi Yamazaki | L | L | April 8, 1981 | 5'8" | 161 | Seta-gun, Gunma JP |
