NPB Awards
Jim Albright
Jim Albright
Central League:
P: Kawakami, Chunichi
C: Furuta, Yakult (yay!)
1B: Woods, Yokohama
2B: Araki, Chunichi
2B: LaRocca, Hirohsima
3B: Tatsunami, Chunichi
SS: Ibata, Chunichi
OF: Shima, Hiroshima
OF: Kanemoto, Hanshin
OF: Rhodes, Kyojin
Pacfic League:
P: Iwakuma, Kintetsu
C: Johjima, Daiei
1B: Matsunaka, Daiei
2B: Iguchi, Daiei
3B: Ogasawara, Nippon Ham
SS: Kawasaki, Daiei
OF: Wada, Seibu
OF: SHINJO, Nippon Ham
OF: Tani, Orix
DH: Seguinol, Nippon Ham
Comeback Award: Kokubo, Kyojin
> 2B: LaRocca, Hirohsima
Why are there 2 second basemen? Did they tie in the voting? Has this ever happened before?
To answer the third question, it looks like it is the first time. I looked through my 2004 Baseball Record Book (Baseball Magazine Sha) and all of the Central and Pacific League Best Nines have nine players each (until the DH was added - then ten players each).
If you look at the voting, you'll see that there's a wide gap in most positions between number one and number two. There are only a few close races.
The Pacific League outfield is somewhat debatable, too, but I think all three guys earned their spots.
The rest were mostly good picks though.
I love Kawakami, mind you!
How impossible it is to have any respect for those who direct and report on the Central League!
Central League Pacific League
Kawakami Kenshin (CD) Pitcher Matsuzaka Daisuke (SL)
Furuta Atsuya (YS) Catcher Johjima Kenji (FDH)
Watanabe Hiroyuki (CD) First Matsunaka Nobuhiko (FDH)
Araki Masahiro (CD) Second Iguchi Tadahito (FDH)
Iwamura Akinori (YS) Third Nakamura Norihiro (OKB)
Ibata Hirokazu (CD) Shortstop Kawasaki Munenori (FDH)
Alex Ochoa (CD) Outfield Shinjo Tsuyoshi (HNHF)
Kuramoto Hidenori (CD) '' Muramatsu Arihito (OBW)
Akahoshi Norihiro (HT) '' Tani Yoshimoto (OBW)
For the nine positions, Chunichi took six awards. This is the first time since the introduction of the "Diamond Glove Award" in 1972 that one ball club took six awards. This was credited to Ochiai's motto that defense wins games. Committing only 45 errors, Chunichi had a team ERA of 3.86, while giving up the fewest runs in the Central League, 558. Araki was the top vote getter with 147.
Nippon Ham's Shinjo won his eighth Golden Glove, his first in four years, and was the top vote getter in the Pacific League with 124 votes.
Nikkan Sports did not publish any other voting information, so, no, I don't have that list for you. Sorry.
You mean this is the first time in the Central League that a team has won 6 Gold/Diamond Gloves. The Lions dominated the PL voting in the early 1990s
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Kenshin Kawakami won the Central League MVP Award. Kawakami went 17-7 with a 3.32 ERA, in 192.1 IP. Kawakami also had 5 complete games and won the Sawamura Award which is the equilvant of the MLB Cy Young Award.
Lions' manager Tsutomu Itoh won the Shoriki Award.
Source: Daily Yomiuri
See also: Voting Results, Chunichi stats page, Daiei stats page