1997 Yakult Swallows Roster
Team Record: 83-52
Finished 1st in the JPCL
Manager: Katsuya Nomura (83-52)
Ballpark: Meiji Jingu Stadium
Japan Series - Yakult Swallows 4 games, Seibu Lions 1
The Yakult Swallows of the Japan Central League ended the 1997 season with a record of 83 wins and 52 losses, finishing first in the JPCL.
The Swallows paced the league with 672 runs. Yakult surrendered 503 runs, least in the league. Dwayne Hosey walloped 38 home runs for the team, while Atsunori Inaba and Takahiro Ikeyama added 15 or more also. Dwayne Hosey drove in 100 runs. Atsuya Furuta led all regular batters by hitting .322. Kazuya Tabata topped the team with 15 wins, and Kazuhisa Ishii registered a 1.92 earned run average, best among regularly-used pitchers.
Jim Tatum, Masato Yoshii, Kazuhisa Ishii, Terry Bross, Shingo Takatsu, Dwayne Hosey and Luis Ortiz were all players from the 1997 Yakult Swallows who played in the Majors during their careers.
Katsuya Nomura served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susumu Aoyagi | R | R | July 9, 1968 | 5'11" | 167 | Kurume, Fukuoka JP |
| Toshifumi Baba | R | R | February 10, 1965 | 5'8" | 170 | Mizuma-gun, Fukuoka JP |
| Terry Bross | R | R | March 30, 1966 | 6'9" | 234 | El Paso, TX US |
| Katsuyuki Dobashi | R | R | December 5, 1968 | 5'10" | 182 | Funabashi, Chiba JP |
| Atsuya Furuta | R | R | August 6, 1965 | 5'11" | 176 | Kawanishi, Hyogo JP |
| Shinji Hata | L | R | July 29, 1962 | 5'10" | 176 | Tokushima, Tokushima JP |
| Yasutaka Hironaga | L | R | March 5, 1968 | 5'8" | 185 | Tokushima, Tokushima JP |
| Hiroaki Hirota | L | R | February 26, 1964 | 5'9" | 167 | Hagi, Yamaguchi JP |
| Dwayne Hosey | S | R | March 11, 1967 | 5'10" | 175 | Sharon, PA US |
| Tetsuya Iida | R | R | May 18, 1968 | 5'8" | 158 | Chofu, Tokyo JP |
| Takahiro Ikeyama | R | R | December 17, 1965 | 6'0" | 165 | Ozaki, Hyogo JP |
| Atsunori Inaba | L | L | August 3, 1972 | 6'1" | 207 | Nishi Kasugai-gun, Aichi JP |
| Hirotoshi Ishii | L | L | September 14, 1977 | 5'11" | 220 | Ichihara, Chiba JP |
| Kazuhisa Ishii | L | L | September 9, 1973 | 6'0" | 215 | Chiba, Chiba JP |
| Akimitsu Ito | R | R | April 2, 1963 | 5'9" | 167 | Edogawa Ward, Tokyo JP |
| Tomohito Ito | R | R | October 30, 1970 | 6'0" | 167 | Kyoto, Kyoto JP |
| Hisanori Iwasaki | R | R | April 4, 1968 | 5'10" | 165 | Oita, Oita JP |
| Tomohiro Jo | R | R | April 30, 1969 | 5'8" | 154 | Narashino, Chiba JP |
| Hiroto Kato | L | L | April 29, 1969 | 5'11" | 154 | Yachiyo, Chiba JP |
| Kenjiro Kawasaki | R | R | January 8, 1971 | 5'11" | 171 | Saeki, Oita JP |
| Fuminobu Kinoshita | L | L | September 4, 1966 | 5'10" | 191 | Suita, Osaka JP |
| Tetsuya Kitagawa | R | R | April 18, 1973 | 5'11" | 180 | Edogawa Ward, Tokyo JP |
| Takehiko Kobayakawa | L | R | November 15, 1961 | 6'1" | 204 | Aki-gun, Hiroshima JP |
| Mitsuru Manaka | L | L | January 6, 1971 | 5'7" | 165 | Odawara, Tochigi JP |
| Masayuki Masuda | R | R | April 13, 1969 | 6'1" | 171 | Kita Soma-gun, Ibaraki JP |
| Shuichiro Matsumoto | L | R | June 22, 1972 | 5'10" | 154 | Kumamoto, Kumamoto JP |
| Daigo Matsuoka | R | R | May 27, 1970 | 6'1" | 187 | Kurashiki, Okayama JP |
| Hajime Miki | R | R | April 25, 1977 | 5'11" | 165 | Osaka, Osaka JP |
| Shinya Miyamoto | R | R | November 5, 1970 | 5'9" | 155 | Suita, Osaka JP |
| Hiroki Nobayashi | R | R | September 9, 1969 | 5'11" | 173 | Setagaya Ward, Tokyo JP |
| Toshihiro Noguchi | R | R | June 24, 1971 | 6'0" | 168 | Narashino, Chiba JP |
| Katsunori Nomura | R | R | July 23, 1973 | 5'10" | 185 | Toyonaka, Osaka JP |
| Tetsuhiro Nonaka | R | R | May 22, 1965 | 6'0" | 182 | Kamo-gun, Gifu JP |
| Yoichi Okabayashi | L | R | April 11, 1968 | 6'1" | 176 | , PY |
| Kosei Ono | R | R | July 11, 1974 | 5'9" | 178 | Yamato, Tokyo JP |
| Yuji Ono | R | R | February 2, 1961 | 5'8" | 180 | Chiba, Chiba JP |
| Luis Ortiz | R | R | May 25, 1970 | 6'0" | 190 | Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional DO |
| Shinichi Sato | R | R | August 7, 1965 | 6'1" | 180 | Sapporo, Hokkaido JP |
| Takeshi Sato | R | R | April 23, 1971 | 5'9" | 176 | Edogawa Ward, Tokyo JP |
| Kota Soejima | L | R | May 17, 1974 | 6'1" | 193 | Ota Ward, Tokyo JP |
| Kazuya Tabata | R | R | February 27, 1969 | 5'10" | 176 | Takaoka, Toyama JP |
| Shingo Takatsu | R | R | November 25, 1968 | 6'0" | 180 | Hiroshima, Hiroshima JP |
| Jim Tatum | R | R | October 9, 1967 | 6'2" | 200 | San Diego, CA US |
| Chikara Tsugawa | R | R | May 1, 1973 | 6'0" | 176 | Higashi Kurume, Tokyo JP |
| Hatsuhiko Tsuji | R | R | October 24, 1958 | 6'0" | 170 | Ogi-gun, Saga JP |
| Futoshi Yamabe | L | L | January 4, 1971 | 5'11" | 167 | Yawatahama, Ehime JP |
| Tsutomu Yamada | R | R | February 9, 1968 | 6'2" | 186 | Ogaki, Gifu JP |
| Tatsuki Yamamoto | L | L | August 31, 1970 | 6'0" | 171 | Kurashiki, Okayama JP |
| Yoshihiro Yamauchi | R | R | February 15, 1966 | 5'11" | 184 | Settsu, Osaka JP |
| Masato Yoshii | R | R | April 20, 1965 | 6'2" | 210 | Arita-gun, Wakayama JP |
