Though the Whales and BayStars have rarely been a strong team, the franchise has had several good players over the years. Without the money to purchase high-priced free agents, Yokohama has seldom been able to reach for the stars when acquiring players.

Noboru Aota: Though playing most of his career with Yomiuri and Hankyu, Noboru Aota was virtually the only offense the Whales and Robins had during the mid-1950s. Leading Taiyo in batting, home runs and RBIs every year from 1954-57, the right-handed outfielder won five home run crowns (1948 and '51 with the Giants, '54, '56-57 with the Whales).

Beginning his playing career with the Giants (1942-43, '48-52) and Hankyu (1946-47) before joining the Robins/Whales (1953-57), Aota played one final season with the Braves in 1959. Though missing three seasons during the Second World War, the sixteen-year veteran compiled 265 home runs, 1034 RBIs and a career .278 batting average.

Takeshi Kuwata: One of the Whales' best hitters of the 1960s, Takeshi Kuwata led the Central League with 31 home runs in 1959 and 94 RBIs two year later. Between 1959-66, the right-handed third baseman led Taiyo once in batting, six times in home runs and seven times in RBIs.

Playing ten seasons with the Whales (1959-68) before appearing his final two years with the Giants and Swallows, Kuwata earned a .264 career average with 223 home runs and 674 RBIs.

Kazuhiko Kondo: Though never earning a league batting title, Kazuhiko Kondo led the Whales in batting for nine seasons between 1959-68. Playing with Taiyo (1958-73) and Kintetsu (1974), Kondo earned a .285 career average with 109 home runs.

Noboru Akiyama: Pitching his entire career with the Whales (1956-67), Noboru Akiyama compiled a 193-171 career record with 1897 strikeouts and a 2.60 ERA. Leading the Central League with a 1.75 ERA, the right-hander picked up the 1960 MVP for leading the Whales to their only Japan Series championship. Leading the Whales in wins seven straight years from 1956, Akiyama topped the twenty-wins plateau seven times.

Makoto Matsubara: Before one final season with the Yomiuri Giants in 1981, infielder Makoto Matsubara played nineteen years with the Whales (1962-80). Eventually replacing Giants home run king Sadaharu Oh at first base, ironically it was Oh's bat that denied Matsubara the 1970 Central League home run crown.

Hitting all but one of his 331 career home runs for the Whales, Matsubara clubbed 1,180 RBIs, 2,095 hits and earned a .276 lifetime batting average. Except for 1972, Taiyo's all-time home run king led the team in RBIs every year from 1968-77.

Masaji Hiramatsu: The Whales' most successful pitcher of the 1970s, Masaji Hiramatsu led the team in victories eight times and took the Central League crown for wins twice (1970-71).

In his most successful season, the right-handed hurler earned the 1970 Sawamura Award by posting a 25-19 record with 182 strikeouts and a 1.95 ERA--along with 23 complete games and six shutouts in 332 2/3 innings. Pitching exclusively for the Whales (1967-84), Hiramatsu compiled a 201-196 record with 2,045 strikeouts (thirteenth on the all-time list) and a 3.31 ERA.

John Sipin: A nine-year veteran of Japanese baseball (1972-80), John Sipin played his first six years with the Whales before moving to the Giants for his three final seasons. One of the Whales' all-time top batters, Sipin compiled a career .297 average with 218 home runs and 625 RBIs.

Tomio Tashiro: The Whales regular third and first baseman from 1976-91, Tomio Tashiro pounded 278 home runs and 867 RBIs with a .266 career average. In his first seven years, the Taiyo slugger led the team with home runs (clubbing over 150 in that stretch) five times and RBIs four times.

Keiji Nagasaki: Holding the Whales' record for single-season batting with a .351 average in 1982, outfielder Keiji Nagasaki played with the Whales from 1973-84 before finishing his last three seasons with the Hanshin Tigers. A career .279 batter, Nagasaki hit 146 home runs with 508 RBIs.

Kazuhiko Endo: Earning the 1983 Sawamura Award, Kazuhiko Endo led the Central league with a 18-9 record and 186 strikeouts while posting a second-best 2.87 ERA. Also posting the most CL wins in 1984, the right-handed pitcher took home two other strikeout crowns in '84 and '86.

Leading his team in wins seven straight years (1981-87), Endo compiled a 134-128 career record with 1,654 strikeouts, while only walking 519 batters, and a lifetime 3.49 ERA. He played exclusively with the Whales from 1978 until his retirement in '92.

Carlos Ponce: Though only playing five years for the Whales (1986-90), Carlos Ponce led Taiyo in nearly every batting category. Leading the Central League twice in RBIs (1987-88), the Puerto Rican slugger picked up the home run crown in 1988.

Leading the club four times in both home runs and RBIs while earning the team's top average twice, Ponce was released in 1990 after hitting .193 in fifteen games. In his short Japanese career, the former Milwaukee Brewer batted .296 with 119 home runs and 389 RBIs.

Jim Paciorek: One of the Central League's top batters for six years (1988-93), Jim Paciorek played his first four seasons with the Whales before moving to the Hanshin Tigers. Earning the league batting crown in 1990 with a .326 average, the former Major Leaguer led the CL in hits three times (1988, '90, '92). Compiling a .315 average in his six-season career, Paciorek posted 842 hits with 86 home runs and 431 RBIs.