1998 Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes Roster
Team Record: 66-67
Finished 5th in the JPPL
Manager: Kyosuke Sasaki (66-67)
Location: Osaka, Japan
Ballpark: Fujiidera Stadium
The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of the Japan Pacific League ended the 1998 season with a record of 66 wins and 67 losses, finishing fifth in the JPPL.
The Kintetsu Buffaloes scored 593 runs and gave up 629 runs, most in the circuit. Norihiro Nakamura walloped 32 home runs for Osaka, while Karl Rhodes and Phil Clark swatted 15 or more also. Phil Clark drove in 114 runs and topped all qualifying hitters on the roster by hitting .320. Rob Mattson paced the team with 9 wins and a team-best 3.57 ERA, best among pitchers with enough qualifying appearances.
Players from the 1998 Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes who spent time in the Majors during their careers included Brian Shouse, Phil Clark, Akinori Otsuka, Phil Leftwich, Karl Rhodes and Norihiro Nakamura.
Kyosuke Sasaki served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osamu Abe | L | L | December 19, 1962 | 6'0" | 165 | |
| Motoyuki Akahori | R | R | April 7, 1970 | 5'11" | 158 | Fujieda, Shizuoka JP |
| Phil Clark | R | R | May 6, 1968 | 6'0" | 180 | Crockett, TX US |
| Takenori Daita | S | R | February 11, 1974 | 5'11" | 160 | Yokohama, Kanagawa JP |
| Kenji Furukubo | R | R | June 23, 1964 | 5'9" | 165 | Toyonaka, Osaka JP |
| Makoto Hagiwara | R | R | April 6, 1973 | 5'10" | 167 | Daito, Osaka JP |
| Satoshi Iriki | R | R | June 3, 1967 | 5'10" | 176 | Miyakonojo, Miyazaki JP |
| Hiroshi Ishige | R | R | July 13, 1970 | 6'2" | 205 | Choshi, Chiba JP |
| Koichi Isobe | L | R | March 12, 1974 | 5'9" | 181 | Higashi, Hiroshima JP |
| Yukio Kinugawa | July 29, 1974 | |||||
| Isao Koda | L | R | May 29, 1965 | 5'11" | 176 | Higashi Sonogi-gun, Nagasaki JP |
| Hideo Koike | L | L | March 18, 1969 | 5'9" | 158 | Onishi, Aichi JP |
| Phil Leftwich | R | R | May 19, 1969 | 6'5" | 205 | Lynchburg, VA US |
| Kat Maekawa | L | L | September 25, 1978 | 6'0" | 215 | Osaka, Osaka JP |
| Masaki Maki | L | L | February 13, 1976 | 6'1" | 171 | Kita Kyushu, Fukuoka JP |
| Tetsuya Matoyama | R | R | October 1, 1970 | 5'10" | 182 | Himeji, Hyogo JP |
| Rob Mattson | L | R | November 18, 1966 | 6'1" | 190 | West Palm Beach, FL US |
| Eiji Mizuguchi | R | R | January 9, 1969 | 5'8" | 171 | Nishi Uwa-gun, Ehime JP |
| Koki Morita | R | R | November 21, 1969 | 6'1" | 195 | Kayabe-gun, Hokkaido JP |
| Takayuki Murakami | R | R | August 26, 1965 | 5'10" | 178 | Omuta, Fukuoka JP |
| Takashi Muto | L | R | June 6, 1973 | 5'9" | 165 | Kawasaki, Kanagawa JP |
| Norihiro Nakamura | R | R | July 24, 1973 | 5'10" | 205 | Osaka, Osaka JP |
| Shinichi Nishikawa | L | L | February 26, 1967 | 5'9" | 170 | Ozu, Ehime JP |
| Hiroshi Nishioka | L | L | September 27, 1969 | 5'9" | 160 | Osaka, Osaka JP |
| Akira Okamoto | R | R | May 3, 1973 | 6'0" | 190 | Kobe, Hyogo JP |
| Hideaki Okubo | L | R | July 3, 1969 | 5'9" | 170 | Aiko-gun, Kanagawa JP |
| Takeshi Omori | L | R | August 4, 1967 | 6'2" | 202 | Nara, Nara JP |
| Naoyuki Omura | L | L | February 13, 1976 | 5'8" | 159 | Nishinomiya, Hyogo JP |
| Akinori Otsuka | R | R | January 13, 1972 | 6'0" | 200 | Chiba, Chiba JP |
| Karl Rhodes | L | L | August 21, 1968 | 6'0" | 175 | Cincinnati, OH US |
| Hiroki Sakai | R | R | September 22, 1971 | 5'9" | 154 | Kashiwa, Chiba JP |
| Kazuya Shibata | L | L | March 16, 1968 | 5'9" | 165 | , Hyogo JP |
| Ayahito Shinada | R | R | October 3, 1973 | 6'0" | 184 | Urawa, Saitama JP |
| Brian Shouse | L | L | September 26, 1968 | 5'11" | 180 | Effingham, IL US |
| Hironori Suguro | R | R | September 23, 1963 | 5'11" | 167 | Funabashi, Chiba JP |
| Takahisa Suzuki | R | R | November 20, 1963 | 5'9" | 185 | Asahikawa, Hokkaido JP |
| Hiroshi Takamura | R | R | September 2, 1969 | 5'10" | 176 | Utsunomiya, Tochigi JP |
| Yosuke Takasu | R | R | February 9, 1976 | 5'6" | 160 | Imari, Saga JP |
| Masahiro Takumi | L | L | February 24, 1968 | 5'7" | 160 | Takaishi, Osaka JP |
| Masaki Yachi | L | L | April 29, 1972 | 5'10" | 158 | Kyoto, Kyoto JP |
| Kazunori Yamamoto | L | L | October 18, 1957 | 5'10" | 165 | Kita-Kyushu, Fukuoka JP |
| Takashi Yoshida | R | R | November 28, 1966 | 5'9" | 160 | Toride, Ibaraki JP |
| Yuji Yoshioka | R | R | July 29, 1971 | 6'2" | 209 | Adachi Ward, Tokyo JP |
