1966 Taiyo Whales Roster
Japan Central League (JPCL) - Class: Foreign Major
Team Record: 52-78
Finished 5th in the JPCL
Manager: Takeshi Miyazaki (0-0), Osamu Mihara (0-0)
Location: Kawasaki, Japan
Ballpark: Kawasaki Stadium
1966 Taiyo Whales StatisticsTeam Record: 52-78
Finished 5th in the JPCL
Manager: Takeshi Miyazaki (0-0), Osamu Mihara (0-0)
Location: Kawasaki, Japan
Ballpark: Kawasaki Stadium
The Taiyo Whales of the Japan Central League ended the 1966 season with a record of 52 wins and 78 losses, finishing fifth in the JPCL.
The Whales plated 428 runs and conceded 557 runs, most in the league. Takeshi Kuwata paced Taiyo with 25 home runs and accounted for 64 RBI. Kazuhiko Kondo topped all regular batters with a .301 average. Makoto Inagawa led the squad with 10 wins, while Yoshiro Sasaki registered a 3.04 earned run average, leading regular hurlers.
Ken Aspromonte and Joe Stanka both played in Major League Baseball during their careers.
Takeshi Miyazaki and Osamu Mihara served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Narihiro Abe | L | L | March 27, 1947 | 5'8" | 154 | , Iwate JP |
| Noboru Akiyama | R | R | February 3, 1934 | 5'10" | 160 | Okayama, Okayama JP |
| Ken Aspromonte | R | R | September 22, 1931 | 6'0" | 180 | Brooklyn, NY US |
| Kiyoshi Doi | R | R | June 10, 1933 | 5'7" | 162 | Okayama, Okayama JP |
| Akira Ejiri | L | L | January 10, 1943 | 5'10" | 178 | Takahagi, Ibaraki JP |
| Tadashi Furuta | R | R | July 31, 1946 | 5'8" | 143 | , Yamaguchi JP |
| Yuji Haba | R | R | June 21, 1944 | 5'10" | 190 | Tokyo, Tokyo JP |
| Kenzo Hayashi | R | R | May 21, 1943 | 5'9" | 165 | Kyoto, Kyoto JP |
| Ichiro Hiraoka | L | L | August 14, 1945 | 5'8" | 156 | Odawara, Kanagawa JP |
| Yoshihiro Hirayama | L | L | November 17, 1942 | 5'9" | 150 | , Nagasaki JP |
| Tsutomu Imai | L | L | April 29, 1945 | 5'8" | 162 | , Nagano JP |
| Makoto Inagawa | R | R | July 25, 1936 | 5'7" | 143 | , Manchuria CN |
| Isao Ito | R | R | May 14, 1942 | 5'11" | 176 | Sendai, Miyagi JP |
| Hidenori Kanemitsu | L | R | June 2, 1935 | 5'8" | 176 | , Hyogo JP |
| Akihito Kondo | R | R | April 1, 1938 | 5'6" | 143 | Takamatsu, Kagawa JP |
| Kazuhiko Kondo | L | L | March 2, 1936 | 5'10" | 173 | , Tokyo JP |
| Motoyasu Kuroki | R | R | January 1, 1936 | 5'10" | 167 | , Miyazaki JP |
| Masakatsu Kusaka | R | R | October 17, 1944 | 5'8" | 176 | Ishimaki, Miyagi JP |
| Takeshi Kuwata | R | R | January 5, 1937 | 5'9" | 191 | Yokohama, Kanagawa JP |
| Makoto Matsubara | R | R | January 13, 1944 | 6'0" | 178 | Iino, Saitama JP |
| Kuniyasu Mine | R | R | October 18, 1940 | 5'9" | 178 | , Nagasaki JP |
| Shinji Niihari | R | R | July 31, 1941 | 5'11" | 176 | Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo JP |
| Mitsuo Nishi | R | R | September 19, 1938 | 5'7" | 165 | Kainan, Wakayama JP |
| Toshiaki Ogawa | R | R | April 13, 1939 | 5'8" | 160 | , Mie JP |
| NObushi Oikawa | R | R | June 8, 1944 | 5'10" | 167 | Kamaishi, Iwate JP |
| Katsuhiko Oishi | R | R | March 10, 1945 | 5'7" | 165 | Kofu, Yamanashi JP |
| Shoichi Ono | L | L | September 30, 1933 | 6'1" | 185 | Iwaki-gun, Fukushima JP |
| Yukio Osada | L | L | February 24, 1939 | 5'10" | 189 | Minami Tsuru-gun, Yamanashi JP |
| Yoshiro Sasaki | R | R | March 15, 1940 | 5'11" | 198 | Akita, Akita JP |
| Tomoo Sekine | R | R | March 12, 1944 | 5'8" | 154 | , Chiba JP |
| Nobuo Shibata | R | R | March 16, 1947 | 5'7" | 167 | , Tokyo JP |
| Shozo Shigematsu | R | R | January 5, 1940 | 5'5" | 158 | Imabari, Ehime JP |
| Gentaro Shimada | R | R | August 25, 1939 | 5'10" | 182 | , Miyagi JP |
| Joe Stanka | R | R | July 23, 1931 | 6'6" | 201 | Hammon, OK US |
| Kimitaka Sugimoto | R | R | July 4, 1938 | 5'9" | 169 | , Yamaguchi JP |
| Shigeyuki Takahashi | R | R | May 16, 1945 | 6'2" | 190 | Asahi, Chiba JP |
| Isao Takayama | R | R | April 8, 1942 | 5'10" | 180 | , Tochigi JP |
| Yoshiyuki Tsuji | R | R | May 16, 1943 | 5'9" | 170 | , Kyoto JP |
| Masayoshi Watanabe | R | R | December 7, 1943 | 5'8" | 147 | , Fukushima JP |
| Tadao Yamada | R | R | August 20, 1942 | 5'8" | 165 | Nichinan, Miyazaki JP |
