1978 Hankyu Braves Roster
Team Record: 82-39
Finished 1st in the JPPL
Manager: Toshiharu Ueda (0-0), Masao Nishimura (0-0)
Location: Nishinomiya, Japan
Ballpark: Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium
The Hankyu Braves of the Japan Pacific League ended the 1978 season with a record of 82 wins and 39 losses, finishing first in the JPPL.
The Braves led the league with 700 runs, sparked by 176 home runs. Hankyu allowed 482 runs. Robert Marcano paced the team with 27 home runs, while Kinji Shimatani, Koji Minoda, Hideji Kato, Bernie Williams and Yasuhiro Takai each walloped 15 or more also. Robert Marcano accounted for 94 RBI. Yutaka Fukumoto topped all regular batters with a .325 average. Hisashi Yamada paced the squad with 18 wins, and Yutaro Imai recorded a 2.39 ERA, best among regular hurlers.
Bernie Williams played in Major League Baseball during his career, the only member of the Hankyu Braves to do so.
Toshiharu Ueda and Masao Nishimura served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitsuhiro Adachi | R | R | March 10, 1940 | 5'8" | 162 | , Osaka JP |
| Eiji Fujii | L | L | February 1, 1940 | 5'8" | 170 | , Osaka JP |
| Masaharu Fujimoto | R | R | January 18, 1953 | 5'9" | 176 | Himeji, Hyogo JP |
| Yutaka Fukumoto | L | L | November 7, 1947 | 5'6" | 150 | Osaka, Osaka JP |
| Jiro Hirabayashi | S | R | January 5, 1949 | 5'10" | 156 | , Aichi JP |
| Yutaro Imai | R | R | August 4, 1949 | 5'10" | 176 | Nagaoka, Niigata JP |
| Mitsuo Inaba | R | R | October 2, 1948 | 5'8" | 147 | Shimizu, Shizuoka JP |
| Osamu Inoue | R | R | July 20, 1946 | 5'8" | 176 | Kasuya-gun, Fukuoka JP |
| Hideji Kato | L | L | May 24, 1948 | 5'9" | 165 | Haibara-gun, Shizuoka JP |
| Kenichiro Kawamura | R | R | February 26, 1948 | 5'10" | 185 | Yanai, Yamaguchi JP |
| Shinya Kobayashi | L | L | October 28, 1952 | 5'7" | 165 | Yamasaki-cho, Hyogo JP |
| Robert Marcano | R | R | June 7, 1951 | 5'10" | 165 | |
| Shoji Matsumoto | L | L | April 2, 1959 | 5'10" | 176 | Ako-gun, Hyogo JP |
| Koji Minoda | R | R | March 11, 1952 | 5'8" | 150 | Saeki-gun, Hiroshima JP |
| Hiroyuki Miura | R | R | June 5, 1959 | 6'2" | 170 | Fukushima, Fukushima JP |
| Atsushi Nagaike | R | R | February 21, 1944 | 5'9" | 180 | Naruto, Tokushima JP |
| Shinji Nakazawa | R | R | June 18, 1946 | 5'9" | 180 | Kofu, Yamanashi JP |
| Yutaka Ohashi | R | R | May 29, 1946 | 5'9" | 171 | Himi, Toyama JP |
| Tadayoshi Okuma | R | R | September 8, 1943 | 5'7" | 162 | , Tokyo JP |
| Masato Osumi | L | L | February 17, 1948 | 6'0" | 176 | , Shizuoka JP |
| Norietsu Saegusa | R | R | July 21, 1952 | 5'9" | 147 | Tagata-gun, Shizuoka JP |
| Shinji Sasamoto | R | R | April 18, 1952 | 5'8" | 154 | Itano-gun, Tokushima JP |
| Yoshinori Sato | R | R | September 11, 1954 | 5'11" | 190 | Okushiri-gun, Hokkaido JP |
| Kinji Shimatani | R | R | January 23, 1945 | 6'0" | 195 | Takamatsu, Kagawa JP |
| Shizuo Shiraishi | L | L | May 22, 1944 | 5'10" | 184 | , Tokushima JP |
| Yasuhiro Takai | R | R | February 1, 1945 | 5'8" | 198 | Imabari, Aichi JP |
| Teruyuki Uno | R | R | February 10, 1952 | 5'9" | 173 | , Chiba JP |
| Tsutomu Watanabe | R | R | April 25, 1949 | 5'8" | 165 | , Miyagi JP |
| Bernie Williams | R | R | October 8, 1948 | 6'1" | 175 | Alameda, CA US |
| Hisashi Yamada | R | R | July 29, 1948 | 5'9" | 170 | Noshiro, Akira JP |
| Takashi Yamaguchi | R | R | May 15, 1950 | 5'7" | 171 | Kobe, Hyogo JP |
| Koji Yamashita | R | R | December 20, 1955 | 6'0" | 162 | , Kumamoto JP |
| Toshiyuki Yoshizawa | R | R | July 23, 1954 | 5'10" | 156 | Kusaka, Saitama JP |
