What the Sawamura Award is
The award was established in 1947 and is named after Eiji Sawamura, the legendary fastballer who pitched brilliantly against Babe Ruth's touring team in 1934 and came to symbolize Japanese baseball's dawn. Drafted three times, he was killed in the war in 1944 at age 27.
Uniquely, it goes to a single starter across both leagues, not one per league.
The seven criteria - not all are required
The seven criteria are: 25+ games, 10+ complete games, 15+ wins, .600+ win percentage, 200+ innings, 150+ strikeouts, and an ERA of 2.50 or lower.
Meeting all seven is not required; the committee judges holistically, and since 2014 the criteria have been treated explicitly as guidelines rather than strict requirements.
How to read the matrix (and a disclaimer)
Selection is at the committee's discretion. This page is a mechanical tally of criteria progress from official records - not a prediction of the winner.
The matrix lists up to 15 pitchers who currently meet at least one of the seven criteria, ordered by criteria met (ties by ERA), extracted mechanically from npb.jp records. Mid-season figures: innings and strikeout thresholds are rarely reachable until late in the year.
Recent results - winners and no-award years
Recent results: Tomoyuki Sugano (Yomiuri) in 2018, no award in 2019, Yudai Ohno (Chunichi) in 2020, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix) three straight years from 2021 to 2023, and no award again in 2024.
With complete games and 200-inning seasons nearly extinct, no-award years are becoming more common - the gap between the criteria and modern pitcher usage is the award's central controversy.
Reference data (tallied from npb.jp official records)
The table below is reference data tallied mechanically from official npb.jp records. Source: Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) official site.
Data as of 2026-07-26 (npb.jp)
| Player | Team | Met | Games 25 |
CG 10 |
Wins 15 |
Win% .600 |
IP 200 |
SO 150 |
ERA 2.50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| マチャド | オリックス・バファローズ | 3/7 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 33.2 | 33 | 1.07 |
| 津森 宥紀 | 福岡ソフトバンクホークス | 3/7 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 | 28.2 | 23 | 1.26 |
| レイノルズ | 横浜DeNAベイスターズ | 3/7 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 | 40 | 58 | 1.35 |
| 工藤 泰成 | 阪神タイガース | 3/7 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 | 32.2 | 38 | 1.38 |
| 清水 昇 | 東京ヤクルトスワローズ | 3/7 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 26 | 24 | 1.38 |
| 橋本 侑樹 | 中日ドラゴンズ | 3/7 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 1.000 | 23.2 | 26 | 1.52 |
| マルティネス | 読売ジャイアンツ | 3/7 | 37 | 0 | 3 | .600 | 35.1 | 41 | 1.53 |
| 八木 彬 | 千葉ロッテマリーンズ | 3/7 | 30 | 0 | 8 | 1.000 | 41 | 27 | 1.98 |
| 木村 光 | 福岡ソフトバンクホークス | 3/7 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 1.000 | 27.1 | 19 | 1.98 |
| 柳川 大晟 | 北海道日本ハムファイターズ | 3/7 | 34 | 0 | 3 | 1.000 | 33 | 38 | 2.18 |
| 中川 皓太 | 読売ジャイアンツ | 3/7 | 30 | 0 | 2 | .667 | 23.2 | 20 | 2.28 |
| ビド | 横浜DeNAベイスターズ | 2/7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 5 | 5 | 0.00 |
| 堀田 賢慎 | 読売ジャイアンツ | 2/7 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 20.1 | 13 | 0.44 |
| 増居 翔太 | 東京ヤクルトスワローズ | 2/7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 11 | 9 | 0.82 |
| 岩田 将貴 | 横浜DeNAベイスターズ | 2/7 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 20.2 | 15 | 0.87 |
Frequently asked questions
What are the Sawamura Award criteria?
Seven items: 25+ games, 10+ complete games, 15+ wins, .600+ win percentage, 200+ innings, 150+ strikeouts, ERA 2.50 or lower. Not all are required; the committee judges holistically.
Must a pitcher meet all seven criteria to win?
No. The criteria are guidelines; the committee judges holistically, a policy made explicit since 2014.
Are there years with no Sawamura Award winner?
Yes - most recently 2019 and 2024. As complete games and 200-inning seasons vanish, no-award years are becoming more frequent.
Who are the most recent Sawamura winners?
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix) won three straight from 2021 to 2023; 2024 had no winner.