Chiba Lotte Marines manager Norifumi Nishimura was named the recipient of the Matsutaro Shoriki award Monday for his contributions to the development of Japanese baseball.
Nishimura led Lotte to the Japan Series title after it finished third in the regular season in the Pacific League, and received the accolade for the first time.
He was the first Lotte manager to receive the award since Bobby Valentine, who guided Lotte to victory in the Japan Series in 2005.
"He made full use of his roster and did a wonderful job in keeping the team winning after finishing in third place and made the fans believe that such a thing was possible," said selection committee chairman and former Softbank Hawks manager Sadaharu Oh.