1998 Orix BlueWave Roster
Japan Pacific League (JPPL) - Class: Foreign Major
Team Record: 66-66
Finished 3rd in the JPPL
Manager: Akira Ogi (66-66)
Location: Kobe, Japan
Ballpark: Kobe Sports Park Baseball Stadium, Kyocera Dome Osaka
1998 Orix BlueWave StatisticsTeam Record: 66-66
Finished 3rd in the JPPL
Manager: Akira Ogi (66-66)
Location: Kobe, Japan
Ballpark: Kobe Sports Park Baseball Stadium, Kyocera Dome Osaka
The Orix BlueWave of the Japan Pacific League ended the 1998 season with a record of 66 wins and 66 losses, finishing third in the JPPL.
The BlueWave plated 586 runs and gave up 609 runs. Yasuo Fujii walloped 30 home runs for Orix, while Harvey Pulliam and Troy Neel swatted 15 or more as well. Yasuo Fujii drove in 80 runs. Ichiro Suzuki led batters with significant playing time with a .358 average. Hiroshi Kobayashi topped the squad with 10 wins and a team-best 3.59 ERA, tops among hurlers with significant time on the mound.
Ichiro Suzuki, So Taguchi, Chris Donnels, Harvey Pulliam, Masao Kida, Edwin Hurtado, Willie Fraser and Troy Neel were all players from the 1998 Orix BlueWave who played in the Majors during their careers.
Akira Ogi served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Bonnici | R | R | January 21, 1972 | 6'4" | 230 | Omaha, NE US |
| Chris Donnels | L | R | April 21, 1966 | 6'0" | 185 | Los Angeles, CA US |
| Nobuyuki Ebisu | R | R | April 24, 1972 | 6'0" | 205 | Kobe, Hyogo JP |
| Willie Fraser | R | R | May 26, 1964 | 6'1" | 200 | New York, NY US |
| Yasuo Fujii | L | R | July 7, 1962 | 5'11" | 178 | Fukuyama, Hiroshima JP |
| Hiroshi Fujimoto | R | R | November 8, 1963 | 6'0" | 209 | Senboku-gun, Osaka JP |
| Hiroki Fukutome | R | R | May 21, 1975 | 5'10" | 173 | Nagoya, Aichi JP |
| Jun Hagiwara | R | R | August 20, 1973 | 6'0" | 194 | Hoya, Tokyo JP |
| Takeshi Hidaka | L | R | August 15, 1977 | 5'11" | 185 | Kita Kyushu, Fukuoka JP |
| Masafumi Hirai | R | R | April 21, 1975 | 6'1" | 214 | Uwajima, Ehime JP |
| Yasutaka Hironaga | L | R | March 5, 1968 | 5'8" | 185 | Tokushima, Tokushima JP |
| Nobuyuki Hoshino | L | L | January 31, 1966 | 6'0" | 162 | Asahikawa, Hokkaido JP |
| Edwin Hurtado | R | R | February 1, 1970 | 6'3" | 215 | Barquisimeto, Lara VE |
| Akihito Igarashi | L | R | April 12, 1968 | 5'11" | 158 | Maebashi, Gunma JP |
| Takahide Ito | R | R | October 21, 1963 | 6'0" | 171 | Kita Shitara-gun, Aichi JP |
| Masahiko Kaneda | L | L | April 30, 1969 | 5'10" | 136 | Bungotakada, Oita JP |
| Toshihiro Kase | L | L | October 6, 1976 | 5'10" | 176 | Amagasaki, Hyogo JP |
| Masao Kida | R | R | September 12, 1968 | 6'3" | 210 | Kokubunji, Tokyo JP |
| Yuichi Kiyohara | L | L | May 23, 1969 | 5'10" | 190 | Higashikuni, Oita JP |
| Hiroshi Kobayashi | R | R | November 30, 1970 | 6'0" | 180 | Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima JP |
| Mitsuhiro Kubo | R | R | April 15, 1974 | 5'9" | 165 | Izuma, Osaka JP |
| Satoshi Kuriyama | R | R | June 15, 1974 | 6'1" | 176 | Niigata, Niigata JP |
| Kazuyuki Maeda | R | R | August 30, 1975 | 6'0" | 191 | Nagoya, Aichi JP |
| Rui Makino | R | R | July 17, 1974 | 6'0" | 190 | Yokohama, Kanagawa JP |
| Eiji Maruo | R | R | April 26, 1972 | 5'8" | 150 | Himeji, Hyogo JP |
| Hideaki Matsuyama | R | R | April 18, 1967 | 5'9" | 165 | Ito-gun, Wakayama JP |
| Mark Mimbs | L | L | February 13, 1969 | 6'2" | 190 | Macon, GA US |
| Takashi Miwa | R | R | December 1, 1969 | 5'10" | 178 | Kashiwa, Chiba JP |
| Yoshitaka Mizuo | L | L | May 2, 1968 | 5'11" | 180 | Sakade, Kagawa JP |
| Troy Neel | L | R | September 14, 1965 | 6'4" | 210 | Freeport, TX US |
| Koji Noda | R | R | February 9, 1968 | 6'1" | 180 | Kuma-gun, Kumamoto JP |
| Hirofumi Ogawa | R | R | March 6, 1967 | 5'8" | 171 | Tateyama, Chiba JP |
| Hisashi Ogura | R | R | August 10, 1970 | 5'10" | 163 | Kanuma, Tochigi JP |
| Koichi Oshima | S | R | June 17, 1967 | 5'6" | 147 | Itabashi Ward, Tokyo JP |
| Harvey Pulliam | R | R | October 20, 1967 | 6'0" | 210 | San Francisco, CA US |
| Hidemitsu Saito | R | R | April 18, 1975 | 6'0" | 172 | Yokohama, Kanagawa JP |
| Manabu Satake | R | R | October 27, 1974 | 5'10" | 170 | Sapporo, Hokkaido JP |
| Yoshinori Sato | R | R | September 11, 1954 | 5'11" | 190 | Okushiri-gun, Hokkaido JP |
| Makoto Shiozaki | R | R | June 29, 1973 | 5'10" | 159 | Yashiro, Kumamoto JP |
| Kiyohiko Sugimoto | July 9, 1974 | |||||
| Naofumi Sugimoto | R | R | May 9, 1971 | 5'10" | 176 | Anan, Tokushima JP |
| Yu Sugimoto | R | R | June 19, 1973 | 6'1" | 191 | Tokorozawa, Saitama JP |
| Ichiro Suzuki | L | R | October 22, 1973 | 5'11" | 175 | Nichi Kasugai-gun, Aichi JP |
| Taira Suzuki | R | R | March 10, 1970 | 6'2" | 171 | Iwata, Fukuoka JP |
| So Taguchi | R | R | July 2, 1969 | 5'10" | 170 | Fukuoka, Fukuoka JP |
| Makoto Takada | L | R | June 9, 1964 | 5'11" | 176 | Koto Ward, Tokyo JP |
| Koichi Takahashi | R | R | July 2, 1971 | 6'0" | 178 | Noshiro, Akita JP |
| Nobuo Takahashi | L | R | March 22, 1972 | 5'10" | 170 | Showamura, Gunma JP |
| Satoshi Takahashi | R | R | January 26, 1967 | 6'4" | 215 | Yokohama, Kanagawa JP |
| Masaoki Tanaka | L | R | May 5, 1977 | 5'8" | 143 | Kumamoto, Kumamoto JP |
| Yoshitomo Tani | R | R | February 9, 1973 | 5'8" | 170 | Higashi Osaka, Osaka JP |
| Jiro Toyoda | R | R | June 2, 1967 | 5'10" | 165 | Himeji, Hyogo JP |
| Eiji Yamamoto | R | R | September 12, 1972 | 5'9" | 160 | Toyama, Toyama JP |
| Minoru Yojo | L | L | September 27, 1966 | 5'11" | 180 | Naka Koma-gun, Yamanashi JP |
