Baseball sensation Shohei Otani, one of the brightest stars of the nation’s sporting scene in 2016, was the recipient of the grand prize at the annual Japan Professional Sports Awards at a Tokyo hotel on Tuesday.
"I'm extremely honored to have been selected while there's so many other great professional athletes," said the 22-year-old Otani, who guided the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters to the Japan Series championship in November. "I don't know how much I was able to contribute to professional sports, but I'd like to keep trying to contribute to it."
A rare two-way player, Otani, who posted a 10-4 record as a pitcher and hit .322 with 22 homers as a hitter, received the big, shining Prime Minister trophy.