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The Eiji Sawamura Award (沢村栄治賞, Sawamura Eiji-shō), commonly known as the Sawamura Award, is an honor bestowed upon the top starting pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball each year.
The award was originally established by Japanese magazine "Nekkyū" in 1947 to honor the career of Eiji Sawamura, a power pitcher who enjoyed an illustrious career for the Tokyo Giants before being killed in combat during World War II. It is a special award that is independent of the official Most Valuable Pitcher award that is presented to one pitcher in each league (Central and Pacific) each year.
Overview
editSelection process
editOne starting pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball is chosen at the end of each season based on the following selection criteria.
- Games started: 25 or more
- Wins: 15 or more
- Complete games: 10 or more
- Winning percentage: .600 or higher
- Innings pitched: 200 or more
- Earned run average (ERA): 2.50 or lower
- Strikeouts: 150 or more
The selection criteria were established in 1982; prior to this, a pool of journalists voted on the pitcher they thought was most deserving of the award without any particular criteria. These simply serve as guidelines; while the pitcher who fulfills the most criteria has the most likelihood of winning, pitchers who do not fulfill all seven criteria have often been presented the award.[citation needed][1]
In the rare event that another pitcher has a season that is deemed more outstanding, a pitcher may, in turn, fulfill all seven criteria and not win the award. In 2008, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters starting pitcher Yu Darvish (16–4 win–loss record, 1.88 ERA, 208 strikeouts) fulfilled all seven criteria, but Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma won the award despite meeting only six criteria because it was deemed that Iwakuma (21–4, 1.87 ERA, 159 strikeouts) had the better season overall.[citation needed]
The selection committee usually consists of five former pitchers.[2]
Other notes
editBecause it began as an independent award by Nekkyū, a magazine catered towards Giants fans, only Central League pitchers were eligible to win the award from 1950 (the first year the NPB employed the current two-league format) to 1989. The first pitcher to be bestowed the honors from the Pacific League was Hideo Nomo for the Kintetsu Buffaloes in 1990.[citation needed]
No pitcher was found to be sufficiently deserving of the award in 1971, 1980, 1984, 2000, and 2019.[2] The award has been presented to two pitchers in the same season twice (1966, 2003).[citation needed]
Winners
editBold names indicate pitchers who met all seven criteria (limited to 1982 and later winners)
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Yoshinobu Yamamoto wins third straight Sawamura Award". The Japan Times. 2023-10-30. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ a b c Coskrey, Jason (October 21, 2019). "No Sawamura winner named for 2019 season". The Japan Times.
- ^ Coskrey, Jason (October 24, 2016). "Carp's Johnson becomes second foreign-born Sawamura Award winner". The Japan Times.
- ^ a b c d "オリックス・山本由伸、2年連続で沢村賞受賞 史上6人目の快挙". Mainichi Shimbun. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ^ "中日・大野雄に沢村賞 選考4項目で巨人・菅野を上回る". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ "山本、3年連続の沢村賞＝史上2人目の快挙―プロ野球". Jiji Press. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
- ^ "沢村賞5年ぶり該当者なし 堀内委員長 苦言止まらず「投高打低の時代、帯に短したすきに長し」". Daily Sports. Retrieved 28 October 2024.