1980 Calbee Large Archive

 This page serves as the master archive of all the 1980 Calbee Large cards I have collected and translated. Cards are presented here in numerical order and without the occasional extra commentary provided in the original posts in which they appear. Note: For this series I have not translated the routine stats and information on the card backs, only write-ups on players if they appear. The introduction to this set can be found here.

#2  Hisashi Yamada - Pitcher (Hankyu)

No. 2

#3  Tomio Tashiro - Infielder (Taiyo)

No. 3

#4  Osamu Higashio - Pitcher (Seibu)

No. 4

#5  Shigeru Takada - Infielder (Yomiuri)

No. 5

#6  Hideji Kato - First Baseman (Hankyu)

No. 6

  #7  Shigeru Kobayashi - Pitcher (Hanshin)

No. 7 

 #8  Koji Yamamoto - Outfielder (Hiroshima)

No. 8

#11  Yujiro Miyako - Pitcher (Chunichi)

No. 11

#12  Keishi Suzuki - Pitcher (Kintetsu)

No. 12

#13  Koichi Tabuchi - Catcher (Seibu)

No. 13

#14  Yasunori Oshima - Infielder (Chunichi)

No. 14

#15  Kiyoshi Nakahata - Infielder (Yomiuri)

No. 15

#16  Hirohisa Matsunuma - Pitcher (Seibu)

No. 16

#17  Hiromu Matsuoka - Pitcher (Yakult)

No. 17

#18  Hisao Niura - Pitcher (Yomiuri)

No. 18

#19  Masaji Hiramatsu - Pitcher (Taiyo)

No. 19

#20  Yutaka Fukumoto - Outfielder (Hankyu)

      

No. 20

#21  Kojiro Ikegaya - Pitcher (Hiroshima)

No. 21

#22  John Sipin - Infielder (Yomiuri)

No. 22

#23  Tatsuhiko Kimata - Catcher (Chunichi)

No. 23

#24  Philip James - Outfielder (Taiyo)

        

No. 24

 Nicknamed “Skip,” James is pegged as an outfielder for Taiyo but his defense at first is also first rate. 

#25  Yoshihiko Takahashi - Infielder (Hiroshima)

No. 25

#26  Mike Reinbach - Outfielder (Hanshin)

No. 26

#27   Tsutomu Wakamatsu - Outfielder (Yakult)

No. 27

#28  Kenichi Yazawa - Infielder (Chunichi)

No. 28

#29  Charlie Manuel - Outfielder (Kintetsu)

No. 29 

#31  Masataka Nashida - Catcher (Kintetsu)

No. 31 

#32  Kazuhiko Endo - Pitcher (Taiyo)

No. 32

 #33  Akio Saito - Pitcher (Taiyo)

No. 33

#36  Roy White - Outfielder (Yomiuri)

No. 36

In 1971, White appeared in 147 games and recorded a fielding percentage of 1.000. He is the only outfielder in Yankees history to go a full season without an error.

#37  Tatsuo Komatsu - Pitcher (Chunichi)

No. 37

#40  Tetsuji Yamaguchi - Pitcher (Kintetsu)

No. 40

#41  Kimiya Fujisawa - Pitcher (Chunichi)

No. 41

#42  Makoto Shimada - Outfielder (Nippon Ham)

No. 42

#43  Nobuyuki Kagawa - Catcher (Nankai)

No. 43

Known by the nickname “Dokaben,” Kagawa is an idol among young fans. Last year at the Spring National High School Baseball Tournament he hit 2 homers. At the summer tourney he became the first ever to hit a homer in 3 consecutive games. His 5 homers on the year is a Koshien record.

#46  Kazuhiko Natori - Pitcher (Nankai)

No. 46

In his 4th year of college Natori won back-to-back Tokyo Big 6 League titles in spring and fall as “Meiji University’s ace.” This season is his first as a pro and he has suddenly inserted himself into not just the first team, but perhaps the fight for Rookie of the Year with Nippon Ham pitcher Kida as well.

#47  Takao Obana - Pitcher (Yakult)

No. 47

#48  Koji Minoda - Outfielder (Hankyu)

No. 48

#50  Hirohisa Matsunuma - Pitcher (Seibu)

No. 50

Against Kintetsu on the 11th, Matsunuma achieved the season’s first complete game victory. Except for a hit from Manuel and a lone walk, it was a nearly flawless pitching performance.

#52  Makoto Matsubara - Infielder (Taiyo)

No. 52

Against Hanshin on the 23rd, Matsubara’s first home run of the season became his 2,000th career hit. That’s good for 12th all-time. He is the first to achieve that milestone by way of the long ball.

#54  Hisashi Yamada - Pitcher (Hankyu)

 No. 55

In the game against Nippon Ham on the 10th, The Ace got his team their first win. The Fighters’ bats were quiet against his all-in performance, being held to just two hits.

 

#55  Tatsuhiko Kimata - Catcher (Chunichi)

 No. 55

In terms of sheer ability, Kimata is number one among Central League catchers. An iron wall defensively and possessing solid hitting, he’s duking it out in average with Hanshin catcher Wakana.

 

#56  Takenori Emoto - Pitcher (Hanshin)

 No. 56

During the classic with the Giants on the 19th, Emoto was in a pinch facing Oh with two outs and the bases loaded in the 10th inning. Reaching back to unleash one powerful pitch for the strikeout, he displayed the inner strength of an ace.

#57  Koichi Tabuchi - Infielder (Seibu)

 No. 57

Against Lotte on the 29th, Tabuchi recorded his 350th home run. He did it in just 1268 games, besting Oh’s mark of 1273 by 5 games— a new record.

 

#59  Koji Minoda - Outfielder (Hankyu)

 No. 59

In the 8th inning against Nankai on the 28th, Minoda hit his second grand slam this year. He has now hit safely in every game since the second of the season. With 18 hits and 21 RBI, he’s already working on a “double crown.”

 

#62  Koji Yamamoto - Outfielder (Hiroshima)

 No. 62

In the 1st inning of the game against Taiyo on the 8th, Yamamoto hit his first home run of the season. It was his 300th overall— good for 12th all-time. His first home run came on May 14th, 1969 against the Giants.

 

#65  Hiromu Matsuoka - Pitcher (Yakult)

No. 65

Now a 13-year veteran, it’s only fitting Matsuoka should mark his 500th trip to the mound with a win. In the 6th inning against Hanshin on the 27th, he picked up his 3rd of the season in relief of Aida and now sits 42nd all-time.