Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Monday became the second pitcher to win three straight Eiji Sawamura Awards, after Masaichi Kaneda, who dominated Japanese pitching for 15 years after he turned pro as an overgrown 16-year-old in 1950 and won 400 career games.
DeNA’s Katsuki Azuma arguably had a better season in terms of the pitching stats the four-man panel consults, but Yamamoto played for Japan in the World Baseball Classic and this year and became the third pitcher, and the first since 1941 when Japan’s balls were as dead as can be, to throw no-hitters in consecutive years.
The Japan Series heads to Osaka for Game 3 on Tuesday with Yakult leading Orix 1-0 after Game 2’s tie. The series will see its first lefty starters, Yakult’s Keiji Takahashi, and Orix’s Hiroya Miyagi.
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Yoshinobu Yamamoto was named the winner of the Eiji Sawamura Award after leading the Pacific League with four complete games, two shutouts, 15 wins, a .750 winning percentage, 193 innings, 205 strikeouts and a 1.68 ERA. It was the second straight season he led in those six categories.
