1978 Yakult Swallows Roster
Team Record: 68-46
Finished 1st in the JPCL
Manager: Tatsuro Hiroka (68-46)
Ballpark: Meiji Jingu Stadium
Japan Series - Yakult Swallows 4 games, Hankyu Braves 3
The Yakult Swallows of the Japan Central League ended the 1978 season with a record of 68 wins and 46 losses, finishing first in the JPCL.
The Swallows plated 648 runs and surrendered 633 runs. Charlie Manuel walloped 39 home runs for Yakult, while Dave Hilton, Tsutomu Wakamatsu, Toru Sugiura and Katsuo Osugi each added 15 or more, too. Charlie Manuel accounted for 103 RBI. Tsutomu Wakamatsu topped all qualifying hitters on the roster by hitting .341. Hiromu Matsuoka led the team with 16 wins, and Takeshi Yasuda contributed 15 or more wins also Shinichiro Ihara registered a 3.38 earned run average, leading regular hurlers.
Charlie Manuel and Dave Hilton both played in Major League Baseball during their careers.
Tatsuro Hiroka served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teruo Aida | R | R | June 5, 1947 | 5'8" | 165 | Kasugabe, Saitama JP |
| Minoru Aoki | R | R | June 20, 1954 | 5'9" | 154 | Yokohama, Kanagawa JP |
| Shinya Ashizawa | R | R | January 1, 1958 | 5'10" | 176 | Nakakoma-gun, Yamanashi JP |
| Kunio Fukutomi | L | L | April 23, 1943 | 5'10" | 180 | Hiroshima, Hiroshima JP |
| Kazuhide Funada | R | R | May 5, 1942 | 5'11" | 158 | Hamamatsu, Shizuoka JP |
| Dave Hilton | R | R | September 15, 1950 | 5'11" | 191 | Uvalde, TX US |
| Shinichiro Ihara | R | R | January 2, 1952 | 5'8" | 187 | Kawanoe, Ehime JP |
| Keiichi Ikuta | L | R | August 27, 1951 | 5'10" | 170 | , Aichi JP |
| Takao Ise | R | R | December 18, 1944 | 5'11" | 180 | Mita, Hyogo JP |
| Kenichi Kajima | L | L | August 30, 1952 | 5'8" | 150 | Kashima-gun, Ibaraki JP |
| Kunio Kobayashi | L | L | October 3, 1950 | 5'9" | 154 | , Aichi JP |
| Hajime Kugitani | R | R | April 30, 1954 | 6'1" | 187 | Yashiro, Kumamoto JP |
| Makoto Kurata | R | R | June 3, 1946 | 6'1" | 182 | Minato Ward, Tokyo JP |
| Yukio Kurosaka | L | L | October 8, 1955 | 6'0" | 160 | Itoigawa, Niigata JP |
| Charlie Manuel | L | R | January 4, 1944 | 6'4" | 195 | Northfork, WV US |
| Masanori Matsui | R | R | June 26, 1950 | 6'0" | 176 | Wakayama, Wakayama JP |
| Noriaki Matsumura | R | R | May 3, 1951 | 5'10" | 154 | , Tokushima JP |
| Hiromu Matsuoka | R | R | July 26, 1947 | 6'1" | 176 | Kurashiki, Okayama JP |
| Masaki Miura | R | R | November 17, 1949 | 5'11" | 167 | Miyakonojo, Miyazaki JP |
| Shintaro Mizutani | L | R | December 7, 1953 | 5'9" | 162 | Matsuzaka, Mie JP |
| Yasunori Nagao | L | R | May 2, 1950 | 5'6" | 160 | Saga, Saga JP |
| Tetsuo Nishii | R | R | July 7, 1951 | 6'0" | 158 | Nobeoka, Miyazaki JP |
| Takao Obana | R | R | August 7, 1957 | 6'0" | 178 | Ito-gun, Wakayama JP |
| Katsuo Osugi | R | R | March 5, 1945 | 5'11" | 193 | Katsuda-gun, Okayama JP |
| Akihiko Oya | R | R | December 20, 1947 | 5'8" | 170 | Tokyo, Tokyo JP |
| Keiichi Shibui | R | R | August 29, 1959 | 5'9" | 176 | Yokohama, Kanagawa JP |
| Shigeru Sugimura | R | R | July 31, 1957 | 5'7" | 165 | Kochi, Kochi JP |
| Toru Sugiura | L | L | June 8, 1952 | 5'9" | 206 | Hazu-gun, Aichi JP |
| Fujio Sumi | R | R | May 31, 1956 | 5'10" | 180 | Kasuya-gun, Fukuoka JP |
| Yasujiro Suzuki | R | R | April 18, 1949 | 6'3" | 176 | Kita Ibaraki, Ibaraki JP |
| Hiroshi Takahashi | R | R | December 20, 1951 | 5'10" | 190 | Ochi-gun, Shimane JP |
| Koji Torihara | R | R | August 29, 1954 | 5'10" | 158 | Miyazaki, Miyazaki JP |
| Tsutomu Wakamatsu | L | R | April 17, 1947 | 5'6" | 162 | Rumoi, Hokkaido JP |
| Susumu Watanabe | R | R | August 25, 1952 | 6'1" | 193 | Choshi, Chiba JP |
| Yukio Yaegashi | R | R | June 15, 1951 | 5'11" | 198 | Sendai, Miyagi JP |
| Yoshinori Yamashita | R | R | April 20, 1946 | 6'0" | 167 | , Wakayama JP |
| Takahiro Yanagihara | R | R | June 12, 1955 | 5'9" | 189 | Yoshino-gun, Nara JP |
| Takeshi Yasuda | L | L | April 25, 1947 | 5'8" | 158 | Kita Kyushu, Fukuoka JP |
