Orix Buffaloes ace Chihiro Kaneko was announced as the winner of the prestigious Sawamura Award on Monday, but trumped that with an announcement of his own — that he is interested in taking his game to the major leagues.
The 180-cm, 77-kg right-hander, who went 15-8 in 2013, surpassed those figures this season. Kaneko, who turns 31 next month, went 16-5 to lead the Pacific League in wins and posted a league-best 1.98 ERA for the second-place Buffaloes.
Asked about the possibility of asking Orix to make him available to big league clubs through the posting system, Kaneko admitted it was on his mind.