It was pretty apparent early in the NPB season that it might be a special year for the Yomiuri Giants' Hayato Sakamoto and the Seibu Lions' Tomoya Mori.
Eight months later, that was proven true as they stood side-by-side as the top players in their respective leagues.
Sakamoto was named the 2019 Central League MVP and Mori took home the award in the Pacific League on Tuesday night at the NPB Awards in Tokyo.