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Saitama Seibu Lions
Saitama Seibu Lions
埼玉西武ライオンズ
Information
League	Nippon Professional Baseball Pacific League (1950–present)
Location	Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan
Ballpark	Belluna Dome
Founded	November 26, 1949; 75 years ago
Nickname(s)	Shishi (獅子, lion)
Japan Series championships	13 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2004, 2008)
PL pennants	23 (1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2018, 2019)
Playoff berths	13 (1982, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022)
Former name(s)	Seibu Lions (1979–2007); Crown Lighter Lions (1977–1978); Taiheiyo Club Lions (1973–1976); Nishitetsu Lions (1951–1972); Nishitetsu Clippers (1950);
Former ballparks	Heiwadai Stadium (1950–1978);
Colors	Legend Blue, Lions Blue, Black, Red, White;
Mascot	Leo and Lina
Retired numbers	24;
Ownership	Takashi Goto
Management	Seibu Railway
Manager	Fumiya Nishiguchi
Current uniforms

The Saitama Seibu Lions (埼玉西武ライオンズ, Saitama Seibu Raionzu) are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, which in turn is owned by the Seibu Holdings. The team experienced a recent period of financial difficulty, but the situation brightened when the team received a record ¥6 billion (about $51.11 million) posting fee from the Boston Red Sox for the right to negotiate a contract with Daisuke Matsuzaka. Between 1978 and 2008, the team logo and mascot were based on the adult version of Kimba the White Lion, a classic Japanese anime and manga series by Osamu Tezuka.^[a]^[b] In 2004, former Seibu Lions player Kazuo Matsui became the first Japanese infielder to play in Major League Baseball.^[2]

Franchise history

Nishitetsu Clippers (1950)

In 1950, the team became a founding member of the Pacific League. It was then owned by a private railroad company Nishi-Nippon Railroad, well known as "Nishitetsu", which was based in Fukuoka in Kyushu, the western area of Japan (Nishi-Nippon). The Clippers name was chosen as Nishitetsu was in charge of Pan American Airlines' Japanese operations (back then, Pan Am's jets were known as "Clippers" due to them being aeronautical Boeing 314 Clipper).^[3] The team finished sixth that year, and at the end of the season, Nishitetsu was merged with another professional baseball club in Fukuoka, the Nishi-Nippon Pirates, which belonged to the Central League and managed by a local newspaper company the Nishinippon Shimbun. The new club was to form the Nishitetsu Lions. Thus the Lions name was adopted and has been retained up to today as the name of the franchise.

Nishitetsu Lions (1951–1972)

The Nishitetsu Lions called Heiwadai Stadium home for their entire existence. They were one of the most dominant teams in the Pacific League during the 1950s, winning four pennants, including three straight Japan Series against the Yomiuri Giants behind famed manager Osamu Mihara; their last championship in Fukuoka came in 1958; after which Mihara left for the Taiyo Whales and led them to a Japan Series championship over the Daimai Orions in 1960.

The team struggled through the following decade and did not witness much success on the field. In 1969 and 1970, the team was caught up in the infamous Black Mist game-fixing scandal, which resulted in four Lions pitchers being banned from NPB for life, as well as other players receiving lesser punishments. These losses decimated the team which the team would not recover from for the rest of their time in Fukuoka, which finished the 1970 season in last place.

After a third straight last-place finish, and with Nishi-Nippon not wanting to do with anything to the team due to the Black Mist Scandal, in November 1972, the franchise was sold to the Fukuoka Baseball Corporation, a shell company within Nishi-Nippon Railroad. Following the sale, the team was renamed the Taiheiyo Club Lions.

Taiheiyo Club Lions (1973–1976)

Nishi-Nippon Railroad, founded by Nagayoshi Nakamura, then owner of Lotte Corporation and the Orions, sold the team's sponsorship rights to Taiheiyo Club, a golf course and resort developer in 1973. The Lions, still smarting from the after-effects of the Black Mist Scandal, finished no higher than third throughout the 1970s.

Crown Lighter Lions (1977–1978)

At the end of the 1976 season, the Fukuoka Baseball Corporation announced that the team's new sponsor was Crown Gas Lighter. With this, the team's name for the upcoming season was changed to the Crown Lighter Lions. On October 25, 1978, the team was sold to Kokudo Keikaku (later Kokudo), and then merged into Prince Hotels.

Seibu Lions (1979–2007)

Following the sale of the Crown Lighter Lions and their merging into Prince Hotels, the team was renamed the Seibu Lions and relocated to a new ballpark northward in Tokorozawa, Saitama, west of the Tokyo area. Fukuoka would be left without an NPB team until 1989, when the erstwhile Nankai Hawks were bought by Daiei (they are now owned by the SoftBank Group) and moved to the Lions' former stadium, Heiwadai Stadium.

Golden Age (1982–1994)

The Lions finished in last place in 1979 (something the team would not do again until 2021), and finished in fourth place in 1980 and 1981. However, the following seasons would mark the beginning of a period of sustained success for the team under new manager Tatsuro Hirooka and with star players such as Osamu Higashio and Kōichi Tabuchi. Tatsuro Hirooka told the players that meat and other animal foods increase athletes' susceptibility to injury, and decrease their ability to perform. He required all players to take up a strictly vegetarian diet.^[4] The club won consecutive Japan Series in 1982 and 1983, and went to the Japan Series again in 1985, but lost to the Hanshin Tigers, who won their first Japan Series title. That Japan Series was also notable for the Tigers also breaking tradition by becoming the first Central League club to use the designated hitter during the Japan Series, prior to the NPB requiring its use during the Japan Series in Pacific League stadiums in 1990 (with it eventually being also used in interleague play when it was introduced in 2005).

Following the 1986 season, the club replaced Hirooka with Masaaki Mori, who was able to sustain the team's prolonged success. Mori won eight league championships, between 1986 and 1988 and 1990–1994, and six Japan Series championships in his nine-year managing career, winning the Japan Series in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, and 1992.

The team gained the moniker "Invincible Seibu" during the 1980s and 1990s due to their sustained domination of the league. The Lions had a powerful lineup in this period, loaded with sluggers such as Koji Akiyama, Kazuhiro Kiyohara and Orestes Destrade. Their defense also benefited from the services of skilled players such as Hiromichi Ishige, Romeo Calhoun, Hatsuhiko Tsuji and catcher Tsutomu Ito. Among the pitchers employed by the Lions in this period was "The Oriental Express" Taigen Kaku, Kimiyasu Kudoh, Hisanobu Watanabe, and relievers Yoshitaka Katori and Tetsuya Shiozaki.

Prominent Golden Age Players

Name	position	Title and accomplishment	Note
Koji Akiyama	CF	Home Run title 1987, Stolen Base title 1990, Golden Glove 1987–1996, 1999 437 HR and 303 SB in career	Belonged to Fukuoka Daiei Hawks from 1994 to 2002. Hawks manager from 2009 to 2014.
Kazuhiro Kiyohara	1B	Rookie of the year 1986, Golden Glove (1988,1990, 1992–1994), 525 HR and 1527 RBIs in career	Belonged to Yomiuri Giants from 1997 to 2005, Orix Buffaloes from 2006 to 2008. Retired in 2008.
Orestes Destrade	DH	Home Run title 1990–1992, RBI Title 1990–1991	Played 1993–1994 seasons with Florida Marlins of MLB.
Hiromichi Ishige	SS	Rookie of the year, Golden Glove 1981–1983, 1985–1988, 1991–1993, MVP 1986	Manager of Orix BlueWave from 2002 to 2003.
Hatsuhiko Tsuji	2B	Batting title 1993, Golden Glove 1986, 1988–1994	Played for Yakult Swallows in 1996, retired after '96 season. Current Lions manager.
Tsutomu Ito	C	Golden Glove 1985–1988, 1990–1992, 1994–1995, 1997–1998	Retired in 2003, Lions manager from 2004 to 2007, Marines manager from 2013 to 2017. Current Chunichi Dragons head coach.
Hisanobu Watanabe	P	Winning Percentage title 1986, 1988, 1990, ERA Title 1986, Strikeout title 1986, Golden Glove 1990, No-hitter 1996	Played for Yakult Swallows in 1998, retired from NPB after '98 season. Lions manager from 2008 to 2013.
Osamu Higashio	P	Wins Champion 1975,1983, ERA Title 1983, Strikeout title 1975, MVP 1983, 1987, Golden Glove 1983–1987	Member of Lions through four different team owners (Nishitetsu, Taiheyo Club, Crown Lighter, Seibu). Lions manager from 1995 to 2001.
Terry Whitfield	OF	Best Nine Award 1981, 1983
Steve Ontiveros	3B	OBP 1983, 1984 Best Nine Award 1982, 1983
Taigen Kaku	P	MVP1991, Golden Glove 1991–1992, No-hitter 1985	Retired in 1996. Taiwan national team manager 2007.
Kimiyasu Kudoh	P	ERA title 1985,1987,1993,1999, Winning Percentage Title1987,1991,1993,2000, Strikeout title 1996,1999, Golden Glove 1994–1995,2000, MVP 1999, longest NPB career as player (28 years)	Belonged to Fukuoka Daiei Hawks from 1994, Yomiuri Giants from 2000, Yokohama BayStars from 2007 to 2009, returned to Lions in 2010. Only active player in "Golden Age" in 2010 season. Manager of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks from 2015 to 2021, winning 5 championships including 4 straight from 2017 to 2020.

Saitama Seibu Lions (2008–)

In order to reinforce the affiliation between the team and their home region, the Lions added the prefecture name "Saitama" to their team name in 2008. They were Pacific League Champions that year and went on to win the Japan Series. The team logo and uniforms were further modified for the 2009 season, with the team trading in their traditional light-blue colour scheme for a dark blue design similar to that employed during the Nishitetsu Lions era in the 1950s and 1960s. Between 2010 and 2019, the Lions made the Pacific League Climax Series 1st stage 5 times, (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017) but lost to the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2010 and 2013, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2017, and to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in 2011 and 2012. They made the Final Stage twice in back to back years in 2018 and 2019, but lost to the Hawks on both occasions. In 2020, the team finished in 3rd place, but was unable to make the playoffs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pacific League removed the First Stage of the playoffs; only the top 2 teams in Pacific League made the playoffs, while Central League removed it entirely, instead opting to send the regular season champion (Yomiuri Giants) straight to the Japan Series. In 2021, the Lions finished in 6th and last place for the first time since 1979 with a 55–70–18 record.

Season-by-season records

Year	Team Name	Finish	Playoffs
1950	Nishitetsu Clippers	5th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1951	Nishitetsu Lions	2nd, Pacific	Did not qualify
1952	Nishitetsu Lions	3rd, Pacific	Did not qualify
1953	Nishitetsu Lions	4th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1954	Nishitetsu Lions	1st, Pacific	Lost Japan Series (3–4, Dragons)
1955	Nishitetsu Lions	2nd, Pacific	Did not qualify
1956	Nishitetsu Lions	1st, Pacific	Won Japan Series (4–2, Giants)
1957	Nishitetsu Lions	1st, Pacific	Won Japan Series (4–0, Giants)
1958	Nishitetsu Lions	1st, Pacific	Won Japan Series (4–3, Giants)
1959	Nishitetsu Lions	4th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1960	Nishitetsu Lions	3rd, Pacific	Did not qualify
1961	Nishitetsu Lions	3rd, Pacific	Did not qualify
1962	Nishitetsu Lions	3rd, Pacific	Did not qualify
1963	Nishitetsu Lions	1st, Pacific	Lost Japan Series (3–4, Giants)
1964	Nishitetsu Lions	5th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1965	Nishitetsu Lions	3rd, Pacific	Did not qualify
1966	Nishitetsu Lions	2nd, Pacific	Did not qualify
1967	Nishitetsu Lions	2nd, Pacific	Did not qualify
1968	Nishitetsu Lions	5th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1969	Nishitetsu Lions	5th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1970	Nishitetsu Lions	6th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1971	Nishitetsu Lions	6th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1972	Nishitetsu Lions	6th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1973	Taiheiyo Club Lions	4th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1974	Taiheiyo Club Lions	4th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1975	Taiheiyo Club Lions	3rd, Pacific	Did not qualify
1976	Taiheiyo Club Lions	6th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1977	Crown Lighter Lions	6th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1978	Crown Lighter Lions	5th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1979	Seibu Lions	6th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1980	Seibu Lions	4th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1981	Seibu Lions	4th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1982	Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Won Japan Series (4–2, Dragons)
1983	Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Won Japan Series (4–3, Giants)
1984	Seibu Lions	3rd, Pacific	Did not qualify
1985	Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Lost Japan Series (2–4, Tigers)
1986	Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Won Japan Series (4–3, Carp)
1987	Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Won Japan Series (4–2, Giants)
1988	Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Won Japan Series (4–1, Dragons)
1989	Seibu Lions	3rd, Pacific	Did not qualify
1990	Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Won Japan Series (4–0, Giants)
1991	Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Won Japan Series (4–3, Carp)
1992	Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Won Japan Series (4–3, Swallows)
1993	Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Lost Japan Series (3–4, Swallows)
1994	Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Lost Japan Series (2–4, Giants)
1995	Seibu Lions	3rd, Pacific	Did not qualify
1996	Seibu Lions	3rd, Pacific	Did not qualify
1997	Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Lost Japan Series (1–4, Swallows)
1998	Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Lost Japan Series (2–4, BayStars)
1999	Seibu Lions	2nd, Pacific	Did not qualify
2000	Seibu Lions	2nd, Pacific	Did not qualify
2001	Seibu Lions	3rd, Pacific	Did not qualify
2002	Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Lost Japan Series (0–4, Giants)
2003	Seibu Lions	2nd, Pacific	Did not qualify
2004	Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Won Japan Series (4–3, Dragons)
2005	Seibu Lions	3rd, Pacific	Lost CS First Stage (0–2, Marines)
2006	Seibu Lions	2nd, Pacific	Lost CS First Stage (1–2, Hawks)
2007	Seibu Lions	5th, Pacific	Did not qualify
2008	Saitama Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Won Japan Series (4–3, Giants)
2009	Saitama Seibu Lions	4th, Pacific	Did not qualify
2010	Saitama Seibu Lions	2nd, Pacific	Lost CS First Stage (0–2, Marines)
2011	Saitama Seibu Lions	3rd, Pacific	Lost CS Final Stage (0–4, Hawks)
2012	Saitama Seibu Lions	2nd, Pacific	Lost CS First Stage (1–2, Hawks)
2013	Saitama Seibu Lions	2nd, Pacific	Lost CS First Stage (1–2, Marines)
2014	Saitama Seibu Lions	5th, Pacific	Did not qualify
2015	Saitama Seibu Lions	4th, Pacific	Did not qualify
2016	Saitama Seibu Lions	4th, Pacific	Did not qualify
2017	Saitama Seibu Lions	2nd, Pacific	Lost CS First Stage (1–2, Golden Eagles)
2018	Saitama Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Lost CS Final Stage (2–4, Hawks)
2019	Saitama Seibu Lions	1st, Pacific	Lost CS Final Stage (1–4, Hawks)
2020	Saitama Seibu Lions	3rd, Pacific	Did not qualify
2021	Saitama Seibu Lions	6th, Pacific	Did not qualify
2022	Saitama Seibu Lions	3rd, Pacific	Lost CS First Stage (0–2, Hawks)
2023	Saitama Seibu Lions	5th, Pacific	Did not qualify
2024	Saitama Seibu Lions	6th, Pacific	Did not qualify

Current roster

Saitama Seibu Lions roster view talk edit
First team		Second team
Pitchers 11 Taiga Ueda 16 Chihiro Sumida 19 Shunsuke Satō 20 Ichirō Tamura 21 Natsuki Takeuchi 34 Hiroshi Kaino 42 Bo Takahashi 43 Shinnosuke Hada 48 Tatsuya Imai 58 Yūta Nakamura 61 Kaima Taira 69 Yoshinobu Mizukami Catchers 22 Yūto Koga 27 Ginjirō Sumitani 37 Sena Tsuge 53 Shōya Makino	Infielders 4 Kakeru Yamanobe 5 Shūta Tonosaki 6 Sōsuke Genda 10 Ryūsei Satō 30 Hiyū Motoyama 31 Shōta Hiranuma 62 Natsuo Takizawa 67 Daiju Nomura Outfielders 1 Takumi Kuriyama 51 Manaya Nishikawa 63 Shinya Hasegawa 68 Junichirō Kishi Manager 74 Fumiya Nishiguchi Coaches 91 Yūsuke Torigoe (Head) 81 Kiyoshi Toyoda (Chief pitching) 95 Tatsuya Ōishi (Pitching) 96 Shōta Nakata (Battery) 78 Toshihisa Nishi (Chief fielding/batting) 83 Yoshiie Tachibana (Batting) 80 Keiji Ōbiki (Infield defense/base running) 84 Masato Kumashiro (Outfield defense/base running)	Pitchers 12 Yūtarō Watanabe 13 Kōna Takahashi 15 Kaito Yoza 17 Wataru Matsumoto 23 Ryōta Itogawa 25 Katsunori Hirai 29 Minato Aoyama 36 Haruto Yamada 41 Haruse Narita 46 Shoma Karyu 47 Haruki Sugiyama 52 Hibiki Shinohara 54 Albert Abreu 56 Emmanuel Ramírez 57 Masaya Kuroda 70 Taishi Mameda 71 Shinya Sugai Catchers 38 Kaito Noda 65 Takeru Furuichi	Infielders 0 Ryōsuke Kodama 32 Takayoshi Yamamura 50 Wataru Takamatsu 60 Takeya Nakamura 66 Kento Watanabe 99 Reon Murata Taiga Hirasawa Outfielders 9 Takuya Hiruma 33 Yūdai Furukawa 35 Seiya Matsubara 44 Lin Kuan-chen 75 Kōichi Okumura Manager 79 Tatsuya Ozeki Coaches 72 Yoshihiro Doi (General pitching) 98 Tomio Watanabe (Pitching) 93 Hayato Aoki (Pitching) 85 Daiki Enokida (Pitching) 82 Kōsuke Noda (Battery) 87 Satoshi Kuroda (Fielding) 77 Ryūtarō Tsuji (Fielding) 86 Shōgo Akada (Fielding) 88 Hiroyuki Ōshima (Fielding) Third squad 97 Tomoshi Aoki (General) 76 Norio Tanabe (Fielding) 94 Yūji Onizaki (Fielding) 89 Fumikazu Kimura (Fielding)
Development Players
114 Towa Uema (P) 115 Takeru Sasaki (P) 116 Víctor López (P) 117 Taisei Miyazawa (P) 118 Kazuki Nomura (IF) 119 Montell (OF) 120 Hiroki Inoue (P) 121 Daiki Miura (P) 122 Ryōsuke Koresawa (C) 124 Anthony García (OF) 125 Sinclair (P) 126 Asahi Taniguchi (IF) 127 Ryōsuke Moriwaki (P) 129 Masahiro Kawashimo (P) 130 Kōji Kaneko (IF) 131 Shōta Kise (P) 132 Rattanayake Ramal Givin (OF) 134 Ryōta Kawano (IF) 135 Yūta Nakamigawa (OF) 136 Yūta Kuroki (P) 139 Okem (OF) 140 Keisuke Nakata (IF)
Updated October 22, 2024		→ All NPB rosters

Managers

No.	Years in office	YR	Managers	G	W	L	T	Win%	Pacific League championships	Japan Series championships	Playoff berths
1	1950	1	Kaname Miyazaki	120	51	67	2	.432
2	1951-1959	9	Osamu Mihara	1,189	680	458	51	.598	4 times (1954,1956, 1957,1958)	3 times (1956,1957,1958)
3	1960-1961	2	Tokuji Kawasaki	276	151	116	9	.566
4	1962-1969	8	Futoshi Nakanishi	1,117	531	541	45	.495	1 (1963)
5	1970-1974	5	Kazuhisa Inao	650	246	370	34	.399
6	1975	1	Shinichi Eto	130	58	62	10	.483
7	1976	0	Leo Durocher	—	—	—	—	—
8	1976-1977	2	Masaichi Kito	260	93	149	18	.384
9	1978-1981	4	Rikuo Nemoto	520	219	265	36	.452
10	1982-1985	4	Tatsuro Hirooka	520	295	204	21	.591	3 times (1982,1983,1985)	2 (1982,1983	1 (1982)
11	1986-1994	9	Masaaki Mori	1,170	673	438	59	.606	8 times (1986,1987,1988, 1990,1991,1992, 1993,1994)	6 times (1986,1987,1988, 1990,1991,1992)
12	1995-2001	7	Osamu Higashio	937	489	425	23	.535	2 (1997,1998)
13	2002-2003	2	Haruki Ihara (1st)	280	167	110	3	.603	1 (2002)
14	2004-2007	4	Tsutomu Itoh	549	287	257	5	.528	1 (2004)	1 (2004)	3 times (2004,2005,2006)
15	2008-2013	6	Hisanobu Watanabe	864	438	395	31	.526	1 (2008)	1 (2008)	5 times (2008,2010,2011, 2012,2013)
16	2014	1	Haruki Ihara (2nd)	144	63	77	4	.450
17	2015-2016	2	Norio Tanabe	286	133	145	8	.478
18	2017–2022	6	Hatsuhiko Tsuji	835	432	372	31	.537	2 (2018,2019)		4 (,2017,2018,2019,2022)
19	2023–2024	2	Kazuo Matsui	188	80	107	1	.428
20	2025–	1	Fumiya Nishiguchi					.
Totals	71 seasons		17 managers	9,564	4,882	4,313	369	.531	23 times	13 times	12 times

Statistics current through the end of the 2023 season.^[5]

Former players of note

Hiroshi Ohshita (大下弘) 1952–1959
Futoshi Nakanishi (中西太) 1952–1969
Phil Paine (フィル・ペイン) 1953
Yasumitsu Toyoda (豊田泰光) 1953–1962
Akira Ohgi (仰木彬) 1954–1968
Kazuhisa Inao (稲尾和久) 1956–1969
Osamu Higashio (東尾修) 1969–1988
Yoshiharu Wakana (若菜嘉晴) 1972–1978
Akinobu Mayumi (真弓明信) 1973–1978
Mateo Alou (マティ・アルー) 1974–1976
Yutaka Saotome (五月女豊) 1976–1981
Yoshiie Tachibana (立花義家) 1977–1991
Terry Whitfield (テリー・ウィットフィールド, テリー) 1981–1983
Koichi Tabuchi (田淵幸一) 1979–1984
Steve Ontiveros (スティーブ・オンティベロス, スティーブ) 1980–1985
George Vukovich (ジョージ・ブコビッチ) 1986–1987
Ty Van Burkleo (タイラー・バンバークレオ, バークレオ) 1987–1990
Masahiro Doi (土井正博) 1975–1981
Kouji Akiyama (秋山幸二) 1981–1993
Seiji Tomashino (笘篠誠治) 1983–1997
Hiromichi Ishige (石毛宏典) 1981–1994
Tsutomu Itō (伊東勤) 1982–2003
Kimiyasu Kudo (工藤公康) 1982–1994, 2010
Hatsuhiko Tsuji (辻発彦) 1984–1995
Kuo Tai-yuan (郭泰源) 1985–1997
Kazuhiro Kiyohara (清原和博) 1986–1996
Orestes Destrade (オレステス・デストラーデ) 1989–1992, 1995
Tetsuya Shiozaki (潮崎哲也) 1990–2004
Hiroshi Shintani (新谷博) 1992–1999
Romeo Calhoun 1993–1998
Makoto Sasaki (佐々木誠) 1994–1998
Kazuo Matsui (松井稼頭央) 1994–2003, 2018
Darrin Jackson (ダリン・ジャクソン) 1995–1996
Fumiya Nishiguchi (西口文也) 1995–2015
Denney Tomori (デニー友利, デニー) 1997–2002
Domingo Martínez (ドミンゴ・マルティネス) 1997–1998
Shinji Mori (森慎二) 1997–2005
James L. Byers (ジェームズ・バイアーズ) 1998–2000
Tony Fernández (トニー・フェルナンデス) 2000
Corey Paul (コーリー・ポール) 1999–2001
Kazuhiro Wada (和田一浩) 1997–2007
Daisuke Matsuzaka (松坂大輔) 1999–2006, 2021
Hsu Ming-Chieh (許銘傑) 2000–2011
Scott McClain (スコット・マクレーン) 2001–2004
Chang Chih-Chia (張誌家) 2002–2006
Alex Cabrera (アレックス・カブレラ) 2001–2007
Hiroyuki Nakajima (中島裕之) 2001–2012
Alex Graman (アレックス・グラマン) 2006–2011
Kazuhisa Ishii (石井一久) 2008–2013
Yusei Kikuchi (菊池雄星) 2010–2018
Ken Togame (十亀剣) 2012–2022
Michael Nakamura (マイケル中村, MICHAEL) 2012
Esteban Germán (エステバン・ヘルマン) 2012–2013
Ernesto Mejía (エルネスト・メヒア) 2014–2021
Tomoya Mori (森友哉) 2014–2022
Hotaka Yamakawa (山川穂高) 2014–2023

Retired number

Team announced Kazuhisa Inao's No.24 was the first retired number of the Lions on May 1, 2012.

Kazuhisa
Inao
P
Retired
May 1, 2012

MLB players

Yusei Kikuchi (2019–)
Jesús Aguilar (2024–)

Retired From MLB:

Frank Howard (1974)
Kazuhisa Ishii (2002–2006)
Kazuo Matsui (2004–2010)
Shinji Mori (2006–2007)
Daisuke Matsuzaka (2007–2014)

Minor League team

The Lions farm team plays in the Eastern League. The year of the team's founding is unknown. They first played in the Kansai Farm League in 1952 and joined the Eastern League in 1979.

Notes

^ Although many fans, team officials, and members of the press consider the mascot to be a variation of Kimba, Tezuka has stated that it is based on Panja (Caesar), the father of Kimba.^{[citation needed]}
^ The Lions adopted a new mascot for the 2009 season.^{[citation needed]}