- Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes
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Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes (大阪近鉄バファローズ Ōsaka Kintetsu Bafarōzu) League Pacific League Location Osaka Ballpark Kyocera Dome Osaka Year Founded 1936 League championships 1979, 1980, 1989, 2001 Former name(s) Kintetsu Pearls (1950-1958), Kintetsu Buffalo (1959-1961), Kintetsu Buffaloes (1962-1998), Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes (1999-2004) The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes (大阪近鉄バファローズ Ōsaka Kintetsu Bafarōzu) was a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Osaka, Japan, which were in the Pacific League. The team was owned by Kinki Nippon Railway Co. (later: Kintetsu Corp.) and later sold to the Orix Group, the owner of the Orix BlueWave baseball team, in 2004. The new owner then announced that they would merged the two teams into one team called the Orix Buffaloes before the start of the 2004-2005 NPB season.
The team was founded in 1950 and was known by various names: the Kintetsu Pearls (1950-1958), Kintetsu Buffalo (1959-1961), Kintetsu Buffaloes (1962-1998), Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes (1999-2004), and Orix Buffaloes (2005-now).
The team played in Fujiidera Stadium, and later in Osaka Dome. Its batting lineup is known as Itemae Dasen (いてまえ打線).
- Uniform colors: Red, navy blue and white
- Nickname: Kintetsu (近鉄), Buffaloes (バファローズ), Mougyu (猛牛) means violent buffalo, Ushi (牛,丑) means cow.
- Logo design: A stylized buffalo's head with angry-looking red eyes which is designed by Okamoto Taro; or "Buffaloes" in red script, outlined with white.
- League championships won (4): 1979, 1980, 1989, 2001
- Japan Series championships won (0):
Contents
Players of note
Former players
Japanese
- Hisashi Iwakuma (岩隈 久志)
- Yoshiaki Kanemura (金村 義明)
- Norihiro Nakamura (中村 紀洋)
- Hideo Nomo (野茂 英雄)
- Koji Ota (太田 幸司)
- Akinori Otsuka (大塚 晶則)
- Keishi Suzuki (鈴木 啓示)
- Masato Yoshii (吉井 理人)
Foreign players
- Andy Abad
- Kyle Abbott
- Mike Andrews
- Luis Aquino
- Chris Arnold
- Gene Bacque
- Sean Bergman
- Billy Bean
- Buddy Bradford
- Ralph Bryant
- Ozzie Canseco
- Phil Clark
- Alvin Davis
- Dick Davis
- Pat Dodson
- Chris Donnels
- Chuck Essegian
- Freddy García
- Shawn Gilbert
- Jim Gentile
- David Green
- Ike Hampton
- Mike Johnson
- Terry Lee
- Phil Leftwich
- Charlie Manuel
- Glenn Mickens
- Bob Milacki
- Don Money
- Ben Oglivie
- Dennis Powell
- Jim Qualls
- R. J. Reynolds
- Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes
- Bombo Rivera
- Germán Rivera
- Dave Roberts
- Johnny Ruffin
- Brian Shouse
- Lee Stevens
- Jim Traber
- Carlos Valdez
- Nigel Wilson
- Bob Wolcott
- Larry Wolfe
Retired numbers
- 1 Keishi Suzuki (鈴木 啓示)
External links
Nippon Professional Baseball (2011) Central League Pacific League Chunichi Dragons Chiba Lotte Marines Hanshin Tigers Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Hiroshima Toyo Carp Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Tokyo Yakult Swallows Orix Buffaloes Yokohama BayStars Saitama Seibu Lions Yomiuri Giants Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Postseason: Climax Series · Japan Series · Asia Series All-Star Series · World Baseball Classic · Baseball awards · Hall of Fame · JPBPA · Players · Seasons · Western League · Eastern League · Japanese Professional Baseball Categories:- Defunct baseball teams in Japan
- Sports clubs established in 1950
- Sports clubs disestablished in 2004
- Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes
- Baseball teams in Japan
- Asian baseball team stubs
- Japanese sport stubs
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