Chunichi Dragons southpaw Yudai Ono was announced as the recipient of this year’s Sawamura Award on Monday, beating out Yomiuri Giants ace Tomoyuki Sugano for the honor.
Ono, who just completed his 10th pro season, is a first-time winner of the prestigious award.
The five former star pitchers who made up the selection committee said they were torn between Ono and Sugano and rewarded the Dragons ace for clearing more of the award’s seven selection criteria — at least 25 games started, 10 complete games, 15 wins, a winning percentage of .600, a 2.50 ERA, 200 innings pitched and 150 strikeouts.