1968 Taiyo Whales Roster
Japan Central League (JPCL) - Class: Foreign Major
Team Record: 59-71
Finished 5th in the JPCL
Manager: Kaoru Betto (59-71)
Location: Kawasaki, Japan
Ballpark: Kawasaki Stadium
1968 Taiyo Whales StatisticsTeam Record: 59-71
Finished 5th in the JPCL
Manager: Kaoru Betto (59-71)
Location: Kawasaki, Japan
Ballpark: Kawasaki Stadium
The Taiyo Whales of the Japan Central League ended the 1968 season with a record of 59 wins and 71 losses, finishing fifth in the JPCL.
The Whales scored 493 runs and conceded 558 runs. Makoto Matsubara led Taiyo with 28 home runs, and Dick Stuart walloped 15 or more, too. Makoto Matsubara accounted for 86 RBI. Kazuhiko Kondo paced batters with significant playing time with a .290 average. Gentaro Shimada topped the team with 14 wins and a team-best 2.91 earned run average, best among pitchers with enough qualifying appearances.
Dick Stuart played in Major League Baseball during his career, the only member of the Taiyo Whales to do so.
Kaoru Betto served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Agcaoili | L | R | March 29, 1939 | 6'1" | 187 | , HI 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 |
| Sumio Fuchigami | R | R | January 8, 1948 | 5'11" | 182 | , Gifu JP |
| Hisaaki Fukushima | R | R | April 10, 1947 | 5'10" | 185 | Higashi Muro-gun, Wakayama JP |
| Tadashi Furuta | R | R | July 31, 1946 | 5'8" | 143 | , Yamaguchi JP |
| Kenzo Hayashi | R | R | May 21, 1943 | 5'9" | 165 | Kyoto, Kyoto JP |
| Masaji Hiramatsu | R | R | September 19, 1947 | 5'9" | 162 | Takahashi, Okayama JP |
| Ichiro Hiraoka | L | L | August 14, 1945 | 5'8" | 156 | Odawara, Kanagawa JP |
| Shigeki Ikeda | R | R | May 1, 1946 | 5'10" | 162 | Matsuyama, Ehime 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 |
| Yoshitaka Kihara | R | R | July 12, 1942 | 6'0" | 162 | , Wakayama JP |
| Hiroshi Kito | L | L | April 18, 1943 | 5'10" | 171 | Ise, Mie 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 |
| Tadakatsu Kotani | R | R | April 8, 1945 | 5'10" | 182 | Akashi, Hyogo 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 |
| Kosuke Matsuoka | R | R | February 9, 1943 | 5'7" | 167 | Kumamoto, Kumamoto JP |
| Kuniyasu Mine | R | R | October 18, 1940 | 5'9" | 178 | , Nagasaki JP |
| Chikara Morinaka | S | R | October 20, 1939 | 5'9" | 162 | , Nara JP |
| Masayuki Nakatsuka | L | L | June 29, 1945 | 5'8" | 176 | Takamatsu, Kagawa JP |
| Shinji Niihari | R | R | July 31, 1941 | 5'11" | 176 | Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo 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 |
| 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 |
| Issei Sato | R | R | January 5, 1945 | 5'9" | 180 | , Tokyo 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 |
| Dick Stuart | R | R | November 7, 1932 | 6'4" | 212 | San Francisco, CA US |
| Takashi Suzuki | L | L | September 22, 1933 | 5'9" | 140 | Tamura-gun, Fukushima JP |
| Shigeyuki Takahashi | R | R | May 16, 1945 | 6'2" | 190 | Asahi, Chiba JP |
| Kazuyoshi Takemura | R | R | December 19, 1949 | 5'11" | 162 | Aki-gun, Kochi JP |
| Tadao Yamada | R | R | August 20, 1942 | 5'8" | 165 | Nichinan, Miyazaki JP |
| Ritsuo Yamashita | R | R | October 20, 1944 | 5'11" | 165 | Minami Uwa-gun, Ehime JP |
| Keisaburo Yoneda | R | R | January 13, 1943 | 5'9" | 160 | Osaka, Osaka JP |
