Tokyo Yakult Swallows
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| Tokyo Yakult Swallows | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| League | Central League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Location | Tokyo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ballpark | Meiji-Jingu Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year Founded | 1950 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Yakult (ヤクルト), Swallows (スワローズ), Tsubame (燕, meaning swallows) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League championships | 1978, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Post-season championships | 1978, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former name(s) | Kokutetsu Swallows (1950-1965), Sankei Swallows (1965), Sankei Atoms (1966-1968), Atoms (1969), Yakult Atoms (1970-1973), Yakult Swallows (1974-2005) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colors | White, Red and Navy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Logo Design | "Tokyo Yakult Swallows" written in red and navy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Tokyo Yakult Swallows (東京ヤクルトスワローズ Tōkyō Yakuruto Suwarōzu?) are a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League.
The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, the Yakult Corporation. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways (known as Kokutetsu (国鉄) in Japanese) and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei Shimbun from 1965 to 1968 and called the Sankei Atoms. Yakult purchased the team in 1970 and restored its original Swallows name in 1974. Then it was renamed the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 2006.
Famous players of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows past and present include Masaichi Kaneda, Kazushige Nagashima, Johnny Ray, Dave Roberts, Tsutomu Wakamatsu, Hiromi Matsuoka, Charlie Manuel, Bob Horner, Jack Howell, Tom O'Malley, Terry Bross, Joe Pepitone, Masato Yoshii, Kazuhisa Ishii, Shingo Takatsu, Atsuya Furuta, Leon Lee (father of Derrek Lee), Doug DeCinces, Masato Yoshii, Rex Hudler, Larry Parrish, Bill Madlock, Takehiro Ikeyama, Aaron Guiel, and Akinori Iwamura.
[edit] Current roster
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Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Manager Coaches
Honored Numbers
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[edit] External links
- (Japanese) Tokyo Yakult Swallows official web site
| Preceded by Sadaharu Oh |
Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize Winner 1978 |
Succeeded by Yoko Gushiken |
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