On the 28th of this month, the NPB Sawamura Award Selection Committee held a press conference at a hotel in Tokyo, announcing that no one would be awarded the prize this year (the last time this happened was in 2019). Notably, due to the lengthy selection process, the press conference started 45 minutes later than scheduled.
At the press conference, Sawamura Award Committee Chairman Tsunehiko Horiuchi stated, “There were many players on the list, but we still could not select them. This is an era where pitching is strong but hitting is weak, and I wanted to see more data. This is not just an award for the best pitcher; it bears the name of Eiji Sawamura, a prestigious figure, and there is no need to force a choice. If you compare, you will find that there are several top players, and it is difficult to say who performed the best this year.”
The Sawamura Award is a coveted prize among NPB players, having been established in 1947 as a benchmark for evaluating the level of pitchers in Japanese baseball. The winner receives a gold trophy and an additional bonus of 3 million yen.
In last year’s Sawamura Award evaluation, pitcher Yusei Kikuchi from the Orix Buffaloes undoubtedly won his third consecutive award. However, this year’s candidates, including Tomoyuki Sugano (Giants), Taishi Ito (Fighters), Kosuke Arihara (Hawks), Koki Doi (DeNA), and Shosei Todai (Giants), had very even performances and did not meet the outstanding standards, leading the committee to decide that no one would receive the award.
Sawamura Award Committee: No Winner This Year in NPB as It Is Difficult to Identify the Best Player. Author：Sports UEFA.Please indicate the source when reproduced：https://www.sportsuefa.com/football-world/sawamura-award-committee-no-winner-this-year-in-npb-as-it-is-difficult-to-identify-the-best-player.html
