The Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Awards were held on Tuesday, November 28, and a lot of hardware was distributed to the best players in both leagues. Here is a look at the major award winners.
Pacific League
Best Nine
P: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Orix*
C: Tomoya Mori, Orix
1B: Yuma Tongu, Orix
2B: Hideto Asamura, Rakuten
3B: Yuma Mune, Orix*
SS: Kotaro Kurebayashi, Orix
OF: Kensuke Kondoh, SoftBank*
OF: Yuki Yanagita, SoftBank
OF: Chusei Mannami, Nippon-Ham*
DH: Gregory Polanco, Chiba Lotte
* = Also won Golden Glove Award
Other Golden Glove winners: C = Kenya Wakatsuki, Orix; 1B = Akira Nakamura, SoftBank; 2B = Shogo Nakamura, Chiba Lotte; SS = Sosuke Genda, Saitama Seibu; OF = Ryosuke Tatsumi, Rakuten
Top Average: Yuma Tongu, .307
Most Home Runs: Gregory Polanco, Kensuke Kondoh, Hideo Asamura, 26
Most RBIs: Kensuke Kondoh, 87
Most Stolen Bases: Ukyo Shuto (SoftBank), Hiroto Kobukata (Rakuten), 36
Most Wins: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 16
Most Strikeouts: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 169
Best ERA: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 1.21
Most Saves: Yuki Matsui (Rakuten), 39
Rookie of the Year: Shunpeita Yamashita, RHP (Orix)
MVP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Eiji Sawamura Award: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3rd straight season)
Central League
Best Nine
P: Katsuki Azuma, Yokohama*
C: Takumi Ohshiro, Yomiuri
1B: Yusuke Ohyama, Hanshin*
2B: Shugo Maki, Yokohama
3B: Toshiro Miyazaki, Yokohama*
SS: Seiya Kinami, Hanshin*
OF: Koji Chikamoto, Hanshin*
OF: Ryoma Nishikawa, Hiroshima
OF: Yuki Okabayashi, Chunichi*
* = Also won Golden Glove Award
Other Golden Glove winners: C = Seishiro Sakamoto, Hanshin; 2B = Takumu Nakano, Hanshin; OF = Masayuki Kuwahara, Yokohama
Top Average: Toshiro Miyazaki, .326
Most Home Runs: Kazuma Okamoto (Yomiuri), 41
Most RBIs: Shugo Maki, 103
Most Stolen Bases: Koji Chikamoto, 26
Most Wins: Katsuki Azuma, 16
Most Strikeouts: Shota Imanaga (Yokohama), 174
Best ERA: Shoki Murakami (Hanshin), 1.75
Most Saves: Suguru Iwazaki (Hanshin), 35
Rookie of the Year: Shoki Murakami, RHP
MVP: Shoki Murakami
In free agent news as well as major player signings, the Orix Buffaloes bolstered their outfield by signing Ryoma Nishikawa (Hiroshima) to a four-year, ¥1.2 billion deal. They did lose a pitcher in the free agent market, though. Lefty Sachiya Yamasaki reached an agreement to play for the same team as his father once did, the Nippon-Ham Fighters. Another noteworthy signing was first baseman Sho Nakata, former Fighter and Giant, who reached a deal with the Chunichi Dragons.
