The Fighters enter 1998 with a generally solid line-up and a pitching staff that has potential to quite effective. The team needs a more reliable catcher, and a strong pitching ace who can fill Yukihiro Nishizaki's place (he was traded to the Lions shortly after the end of last season). Depending on how he performs, this could be Hiromitsu Ochiai's last year.

Pitchers:

Kip Gross: One of the best and most consistent foreign pitchers to appear in Japan recently, right-handed Kip Gross earned the most wins in the Pacific League in 1995 and '96. A four year veteran with the Fighters, Gross has compiled a career 52-45 record with 353 strikeouts and a 3.58 ERA.

In 1997, Gross missed a third straight wins title after being attacked by a drunken group of Sendai residents in August. Suffering a cracked rib, the hardworking pitcher who regularly pitches over 200 innings played poorly for the rest of the season, finishing with a 13-11 season, 98 strikeouts and a 3.63 ERA in 233 1/3 innings.

Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi: A big scruffy 30 year old southpaw, Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi has played almost all the known pitching roles since his 1991 debut. In 1997, the versatile pitcher appeared in 65 games, earning a a 9-4 record with a 3.49 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 147 innings. With a career 4.04 ERA, Shimoyanagi has compiled a 27-22 career record and 359 strikeouts.

Tsutomu Iwamoto: A 26 year old pitcher who usually gets a lot of strikeouts, right-hander Tsutomu Iwamoto had a less successful 1997 outing, earning a 7-6 record with three saves, 75 strikeouts and 47 walks while posting a 4.74 ERA. Though rarely playing until 1995, Iwamoto has compiled a 22-24 record since 1991, with 344 strikeouts and a 3.93 ERA.

Takeshi Shimazaki: The Fighters top reliever in 1997, thirty-one year old Takeshi Shimazaki earned eleven saves with a 6-7 record despite posting a 3.98 ERA. A better pitcher than his '97 record indicates, the right handed closer has compiled a career 3.08 ERA with 28 saves and a 10-18 record.

Takehiro Ishii: One of two players traded to Nippon Ham in exchange for ace pitcher Yukihiro Nishizaki, 33-year old Takehiro Ishii has compiled a career 66-46 record with ten saves 707 strikeouts, 238 walks and a 3.12 lifetime ERA. In his best year, 1992, the right-handed hurler led the league in winning percentage (.833) with a 15-3 record and 1.94 ERA. Generally consistent, Ishii posted a 3.45 ERA in 1997 with a 4-5 record and 72 strikeouts in 109 2/3 innings.

Catchers:

Masanori Taguchi: Not a particularly good player, Masanori Taguchi had a career .202 average with ten home runs after the 1996 season. In 1997, the backstop batted .197 with four home runs while playing part-time. Currently, there aren't any hot prospects waiting to take Taguchi's place, though rookie infielder Michihiro Ogasawara filled in a lot behind the plate in '97 and batted .223. Twenty-four year old Nobuaki Arai also remains a prospect.

Infielders:

Hiromitsu Ochiai: One of the best Japanese hitters of all-time, three-time triple crown winner Hiromitsu Ochiai joined the Fighters in 1997 after Kazuhiro Kiyohara took his first base job with the Giants. Returning to the league in which he started his career, Ochiai had one of the worst seasons of his nineteen year career. Batting .262, the aging star hit three home runs and 43 RBIs (versus .301, 21 and 86 in his final year with Yomiuri). It's quite possible the forty-four year old slugger's role on the team will diminish or disappear in 1998.

Sixth on the all-time batting list with a career .313 average, Ochiai has hit 508 lifetime home runs (fifth) with 1,546 RBIs (fifth), 1,507 walks (second) and 2,333 hits (eleventh). Holding the PL record for most RBIs in a season (146 in 1985) and tied for most home runs (52, same year), Ochiai has earned two MVP awards and a total of fifteen crowns, five for homers, RBIs, and batting.

Yukio Tanaka: A thirty year old shortstop who has played with the Fighters since 1986, Yukio Tanaka has compiled a .263 career batting average with 169 home runs, 626 RBIs and 212 doubles. Though he didn't really start smacking homers with regularity until 1994, his power numbers have been falling since that season. In 1997, the right-handed batter compiled a .254 average with nineteen home runs, 63 RBIs and 29 doubles. In 1995, Tanaka led the Pacific League with 80 RBIs.

Makoto Kaneko: Named 1996 Pacific League Rookie of the Year, second baseman Makoto Kaneko improved in 1997. Batting .277 in the designated bunter spot (second in the line-up), the right-handed sophomore drilled twelve home runs and gathered 53 RBIs while stealing thirteen bases. In three seasons (he played four games in 1995), Kaneko has a career .270 average with sixteen home runs, 86 RBIs and 28 steals.

Atsushi Kataoka: A regular first baseman who converted to third when the Fighters acquired Hiromitsu Ochiai, Atsushi Kataoka may be headed back to his old position if the aging superstar continues to falter. The Ham's second best batter in 1997, Kataoka earned a .286 average with seventeen home runs, 28 doubles and 67 RBIs while drawing a team-best 81 walks. Since 1992, the .274 career batter has clubbed 67 home runs with 117 doubles and 290 RBIs.

Outfielders:

Tatsuya Ide: A .257 career hitter with 24 home runs and 129 RBIs since 1995, twenty-six year old center fielder Tatsuya Ide became the Fighters' top base stealer in 1997. Batting .284 with eight homers and 45 RBIs last year, right-handed Ide stole 27 bases and hit five triples. For someone who is evidently not swinging for the fences, Ide strikes out a lot, whiffing 101 times while earning 59 walks.

Jerry Brooks: Though less successful than teammate Nigel Wilson, left fielder Jerry Brooks had a reasonably good "rookie" season in Japan. Batting .277 with sixteen homers, right-handed Brooks clubbed sixteen homers with 27 doubles and 63 RBIs.

The former Dodgers and Marlins utility player has tried to fit in with his new teammates, picking up batting practice balls (as players often do in Japan) and taking advice from veterans like Hiromitsu Ochiai.

Positive and flexible, the thirty-one year old outfielder is the kind of player who can likely adapt and have a relatively long and successful career in Japan. As Brooks told John De Bellis of the Asahi Evening News, "I have a nice team to play for and a nice city to live in. I'm hoping to stay until my legs fall off."

Nigel Wilson: His first year in Japan, designated hitter Nigel Wilson earned the Pacific League home run crown with 37 round-trippers and the deadball crown, as he was hit by by fourteen pitches. A generally easygoing guy who's tried to adapt to the Japanese style of baseball, only once did he retaliate by charging the mound.

While slugging .556 (second in the league), Wilson batted .274 with 24 doubles and 94 RBIs. Whiffing like a power-hitter, the left-handed DH struck out 130 times and earned 53 walks. Prior to joining the Fighters, Wilson, who is asthmatic and carries an inhaler with him, played a handful of games with the Marlins, Reds and Indians.

Yoshinori Ueda: A twenty-four year old outfielder who's played regularly with the Ham since 1995, Yoshinori Ueda led the Fighters in batting during the 1997 season with a .300 average--quite an improvement over his .201 average a year earlier. Though not having much power, the left-handed batter (throws right) clubbed six homers with 39 RBIs in 1997. A career .247 batter, Ueda (no relation to Fighters manager) has in three years hit seventeen home runs with 90 RBIs and eighteen stolen bases.