The is an honor given annually in
baseball
to two outstanding players in
Nippon Professional Baseball
(NPB), one each for the
Central
League and
Pacific League.
Each league's award is voted on by national baseball writers. Each
voter places a vote for first, second, and third place among the
players of each league. The
formula used to
calculate the final scores is a weighted sum of the votes. The
pitcher with the highest score in each league wins the award.
The first recipient of the award was
Eiji
Sawamura, and the most recent winners are
Alex Ramírez, from the Central League, and
Hisashi Iwakuma, from the Pacific
League. In 1940,
Victor Starffin
became the first player to win the award consecutively and multiple
times. Eiji Sawamura and
Kazuhisa Inao
are the youngest players to receive the awards in 1937 and 1957,
respectively, at the ages of 20. In 1988,
Hiromitsu Kadota became the oldest player
to receive the award at the age of 40.
Key
Winners
Japanese Baseball League (1937–1949)
| Year |
Player |
Team |
Position |
Selected statistics |
|
* |
Tokyo Kyojingun |
P |
*0.81 [[earned run average]] *24 [[complete
game]]s *24–4 record in 30 [[games played|appearances]] (24 [[games
started]]) |- | {{sort|1937.2|1937 (Fall)}} ||align="left"|
{{sortname|Harris|McGalliard}} ||align="left"| [[Korakuen Eagles]]
|| [[Catcher|C]] |align="left"| *.310 [[batting average]] *62 [[hit
(baseball)|hits]] *24 [[run batted in|RBIs]] |- |
{{sort|1938.1|1938 (Spring)}} ||bgcolor="#cedff2" align="left"|
{{sortname|Hisanori|Karita}}* ||align="left"| [[Tokyo Senators]] ||
[[Second baseman|2B]] |align="left"| *.299 [[batting average]] *40
[[hit (baseball)|hits]] *15 [[run batted in|RBIs]] |- |
{{sort|1938.2|1938 (Fall)}} ||bgcolor="#cedff2" align="left"|
{{sortname|Haruyasu|Nakajima}}* ||align="left"| [[Yomiuri
Giants|Tokyo Kyojingun]] || [[Outfielder|OF]] |align="left"| *.361
[[batting average]] *10 [[home runs]] *38 [[run batted in|RBIs]] |-
| {{sort|1939|1939}} ||bgcolor="#cedff2" align="left"|
{{sortname|Victor|Starffin}}* ||align="left"| [[Yomiuri
Giants|Tokyo Kyojingun]] || [[Pitcher|P]] |align="left"| *282
[[strikeout]]s *38 [[complete game]]s *42–15 record in 68 [[games
played|appearances]] (41 [[games started]]) |- | {{sort|1940|1940}}
||bgcolor="#cedff2" align="left"| {{sortname|Victor|Starffin}}* (2)
||align="left"| [[Yomiuri Giants|Tokyo Kyojingun]] || [[Pitcher|P]]
|align="left"| *0.97 [[earned run average]] *16 [[shutout]]s *38–12
record in 55 [[games played|appearances]] (42 [[games started]]) |-
| {{sort|1941|1941}} ||bgcolor="#cedff2" align="left"|
{{sortname|Tetsuharu|Kawakami}}* ||align="left"| [[Yomiuri
Giants|Tokyo Kyojingun]] || [[First baseman|1B]] |align="left"|
*.310 [[batting average]] *105 [[hit (baseball)|hits]] *57 [[run
batted in|RBIs]] |- | {{sort|1942|1942}} ||bgcolor="#cedff2"
align="left"| {{sortname|Shigeru|Mizuhara}}* ||align="left"|
[[Yomiuri Giants|Tokyo Kyojingun]] || [[Third baseman|3B]]
|align="left"| *.225 [[batting average]] *16 [[run batted in|RBIs]]
|- | {{sort|1943|1943}} ||bgcolor="#cedff2" align="left"|
{{sortname|Shosei|Go}}* ||align="left"| [[Yomiuri Giants|Tokyo
Kyojingun]] || [[Outfielder|OF]] |align="left"| *.300 [[batting
average]] *89 [[hit (baseball)|hits]] *54 [[stolen base]]s |- |
{{sort|1944|1944}} ||bgcolor="#cedff2" align="left"|
{{sortname|Tadashi|Wakabayashi}}* ||align="left"| [[Hanshin
Tigers|Osaka Tigers]] || [[Pitcher|P]] |align="left"| *1.56
[[earned run average]] *24 [[complete game]]s *22–4 record in 31
[[games played|appearances]] |- | {{sort|1945|1945}}
|style="border-left:2px solid
#fff;border-left-style:hidden;padding:0.3em 0em"|Z
''Season canceled''{{ref label|1945|C|C}}
|style="border-left:2px solid
#fff;border-left-style:hidden;padding:0.3em 0em"|Z |style="border-left:2px solid
#fff;border-left-style:hidden;padding:0.3em 0em"|Z |style="border-left:2px solid
#fff;border-left-style:hidden;padding:0.3em 0em"| |- |
{{sort|1946|1946}} ||bgcolor="#cedff2" align="left"|
{{sortname|Kazuto|Yamamoto}}* ||align="left"| [[Fukuoka SoftBank
Hawks|Kinki Great Ring]] || [[Infielder|IF]] |align="left"| *.314
[[batting average]] *122 [[hit (baseball)|hits]] *95 [[run batted
in|RBIs]] |- | {{sort|1947|1947}} ||bgcolor="#cedff2" align="left"|
{{sortname|Tadashi|Wakabayashi}}* (2) ||align="left"| [[Hanshin
Tigers|Osaka Tigers]] || [[Pitcher|P]] |align="left"| *2.09
[[earned run average]] *10 [[shutout]]s *26–12 record in 43 [[games
played|appearances]] |- | {{sort|1948|1948}} ||bgcolor="#cedff2"
align="left"| {{sortname|Kazuto|Yamamoto}}* (2) ||align="left"|
[[Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks|Nankai Hawks]] || [[Infielder|IF]]
|align="left"| *.305 [[batting average]] *137 [[hit
(baseball)|hits]] *68 [[run batted in|RBIs]] |- |
{{sort|1949|1949}} ||bgcolor="#cedff2" align="left"|
{{sortname|Fumio|Fujimura}}* ||align="left"| [[Hanshin Tigers|Osaka
Tigers]] || [[Third baseman|3B]] |align="left"|
|
Nippon Professional Baseball (1950–present)
Central League
Pacific League
Multiple winners
There have been 22 players who have won the award multiple
times.
Sadaharu Oh currently holds the
record for the most awards won, with nine.
Hisashi Yamada (1976–1978) and
Ichiro Suzuki (1994–1996) share the record for
the most consecutive awards won.
Yutaka
Enatsu and
Michihiro
Ogasawara are the only players to have won the award in both
the Central League and Pacific League.
Alex Ramírez is the only non-Japanese
player receive the award multiple times after the formation of two
league system.
| Player |
League |
# of Awards |
Years |
| * |
Central |
9 |
1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977 |
| * |
Pacific |
5 |
1961, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1973 |
| * |
Central |
5 |
1961, 1963, 1966, 1968, 1971 |
| * |
Central |
3 |
1941, 1951, 1955 |
| * |
Pacific |
3 |
1976, 1977, 1978 |
|
Pacific |
3 |
1994, 1995, 1996 |
|
Central |
3 |
1996, 2000, 2002 |
| * |
Pre-NPB |
2 |
1939, 1940 |
| * |
Pre-NPB |
2 |
1944, 1947 |
| * |
Pre-NPB |
2 |
1946, 1948 |
| * |
Central |
2 |
1952, 1956 |
| * |
Pacific |
2 |
1957, 1958 |
| * |
Central |
2 |
1958, 1959 |
|
Pacific |
2 |
1969, 1971 |
| * |
Central |
2 |
1975, 1980 |
|
Both |
2 |
1979, 1981 |
|
Pacific |
2 |
1982, 1985 |
|
Pacific |
2 |
1983, 1987 |
|
Central |
2 |
1993, 1997 |
|
Pacific |
2 |
1993, 1999 |
|
Pacific |
2 |
2000, 2004 |
|
Both |
2 |
2006, 2007 |
|
Pacific |
2 |
2007, 2009 |
|
Central |
2 |
2008, 2009
|
Notes
See also
References
- General
- Specific
.jpg/180px-Tokyo_Dome_(Ogasawara_Swing).jpg)
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