Hanshin Tigers Hurler Shoki Murakami Is surprise Central League MVP; Yoshinobu Yamamoto Wins 3rd Straight In Pacific
12:10 JST, November 29, 2023
Hanshin Tigers hurler Shoki Murakami collected both the MVP and Rookie of the Year honors in the Central League at the Nippon Professional Baseball Awards event on Tuesday night in Tokyo.
The 25-year-old is the third player to win both honors in the same year and the first in the CL. Right-hander Hideo Nomo of the Kintetsu Buffaloes was the last player to do it, taking both awards in the Pacific League in 1990.
In the PL, Orix Buffaloes right-handed ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 25, was named the MVP for the third consecutive year, while teammate and fellow right-hander Shumpeita Yamashita, 21, earned the award as the top rookie.
Murakami, a third-year right-hander, posted a league-leading ERA of 1.75, and was a major contributor as Hanshin captured its first CL title in 18 years.
“I figured I had a bit of a chance to win the Rookie of the Year award, but I thought another guy would be the MVP, so wow, I’m totally shocked,” Murakami said.
“I’m very honored.”
"Sports" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Shohei Ohtani Won’t Pitch in the World Series, but That’s Not Slowing Ohtanimania
-
Yokohama DeNA BayStars Capture 1st Japan Series Title in 26 Years (Update 1)
-
World Series Champion Dodgers Have Eye on Back-to-back Titles with Shohei Ohtani Returning to Mound in 2025
-
Shohei Ohtani Set to Play for Dodgers in Game 3 of World Series Following Shoulder Injury
-
BayStars Capture 1st Japan Series Title in 26 Years
JN ACCESS RANKING
- Streaming Services Boost Anime Popularity Overseas; Former ‘Geeky’ Interest More Beloved Among Gen Z than 3 Major U.S. Sports
- G20 Sees Soft Landing for Global Economy; Leaders Pledge to Resist Protectionism as Trump Calls for Imported Goods Flat Tariff
- 2024 POLLS: Ruling Camp Likely to Win Lower House Majority
- Chinese Rights Lawyer’s Wife Seeks Support in Japan; Sophie Luo Calls for Beijing to Free Ding Jiaxi, Xu Zhiyong
- Chinese Social Media Still Full of Anti-Japanese Posts 1 Month After Boy’s Fatal Stabbing; Malicious Videos Gain Large Number of Views