NEWSWORTHY
Carp pitcher Daichi Osera in good position in race for Sawamura Award
The Central League-leading Hiroshima Carp only have one more game remaining against the last-place Chunichi Dragons, inexplicably the only CL team with a winning record against Hiroshima, this season. Which means the two-time defending champions can get back to the task of finishing off their ...
Giants ace Tomoyuki Sugano named Sawamura Award winner
Tomoyuki Sugano was the No. 1 pitcher in Japan in 2017. Now he's got the hardware to prove it. The Yomiuri Giants ace was named the 2017 Sawamura Award winner on Monday afternoon, earning the award for the first time after narrowly beating out Seibu Lions ...
Finally, Lions' Yusei Kikuchi living up to potential this season
Yusei Kikuchi had waited for this for far too long to not savor every last second. For seven years, the Seibu Lions left-hander had chased the shadow of his younger self, the high school phenom poised to skip right over NPB and head to ...
Kikuchi, Sugano locked in duel for Sawamura Award
Despite the amount of ink spilled trying to determine whether Seibu Lions pitcher Yusei Kikuchi was actually guilty of the illegal two-stage pitching motion he was cited for on Thursday night, it's more important to note the way he handled the Tohoku Rakuten Golden ...
Hiroshima Carp workhorse Kris Johnson, winner of last year's Sawamura Award, remains unable to practice due to illness, the team's chief trainer said Wednesday. Johnson, who is in his third Nippon Professional Baseball season, won last year's Sawamura Award as NPB's most impressive starting pitcher. ...
Sawamura Award selection panel dismisses Otani's candidacy
In a year when no pitching candidates leaped off the stat sheet to seize the Sawamura Award by force, perhaps the selectors would opt for a long-shot candidate such as Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters ace Shohei Otani. Like Sawamura, Otani is the fastest pitcher of ...
Carp's Johnson becomes second foreign-born Sawamura Award winner
There was no Japan Series game played Monday, but it was still an eventful afternoon for Hiroshima Carp pitcher Kris Johnson. Johnson was named the 2016 Sawamura Award winner, becoming the first foreign player to earn the honor, given to each year's top starting pitcher, ...
Carp hurler Maeda wins Sawamura Award for second time
Four famed former pitchers went to a Tokyo hotel for the purpose of sitting down together and identifying the best pitcher in Japan in 2015. The name they came out with was Kenta Maeda. The Hiroshima Carp ace was named this year's Sawamura Award winner, Sawamura ...
Kazumi Takahashi, a left-hander who won two Sawamura Awards for the Yomiuri Giants during their run of nine straight Japan Series championship seasons, has died of multiple organ failure, informed sources said Wednesday. He was 69. Takahashi, who had a career record of 167-132 and ...
Buffaloes hurler Kaneko wins Sawamura Award, expresses interest in move to majors
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 ...
Flawless Tanaka wins Sawamura Award
Less than 24 hours after striking out 12 during a complete-game victory in his Japan Series debut, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles ace Masahiro Tanaka is named the Sawamura Award winner for the second time.
