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, 8+ complete games, 15+ wins, .600+ win percentage, 180+ innings, 150+ strikeouts, and an ERA of 2.50 or lower. The complete-game (10 to 8) and innings (200 to 180) thresholds were relaxed from the 2026 season - the award's 80th year - as announced by the selection committee in October 2025.
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 reference data on criteria progress - 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). 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, no award in 2024, and Hiromi Ito (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham) winning his first in 2025.
With complete games and long-innings seasons nearly extinct, no-award years had become more common - the gap between the criteria and modern pitcher usage was the award's central controversy, and the 2026 relaxation (complete games 10 to 8, innings 200 to 180) is the response to it.
Reference data
The table below is reference data compiled by this site, not an official announcement.
Data as of Aug 16, 2026
| Player | Team | Met | Games 25 |
CG 8 |
Wins 15 |
Win% .600 |
IP 180 |
SO 150 |
ERA 2.50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| マチャド | ORIX | 3/7 | 37 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 | 38.2 | 37 | 0.93 |
| 工藤 泰成 | Hanshin | 3/7 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 | 40.2 | 48 | 1.11 |
| レイノルズ | DeNA | 3/7 | 45 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 | 46.1 | 66 | 1.17 |
| 中森 俊介 | Lotte | 3/7 | 29 | 0 | 4 | .800 | 28.1 | 22 | 1.27 |
| 津森 宥紀 | SoftBank | 3/7 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 | 33.1 | 30 | 1.35 |
| 清水 昇 | Yakult | 3/7 | 34 | 0 | 2 | .667 | 30.1 | 30 | 1.48 |
| 九谷 瑠 | Rakuten | 3/7 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 30.1 | 28 | 1.78 |
| 小野 郁 | Lotte | 3/7 | 26 | 0 | 2 | .667 | 30 | 27 | 1.80 |
| 鈴木 豪太 | SoftBank | 3/7 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 34.1 | 31 | 1.83 |
| 八木 彬 | Lotte | 3/7 | 32 | 0 | 9 | 1.000 | 44 | 32 | 1.84 |
| 中川 皓太 | Yomiuri | 3/7 | 36 | 0 | 2 | .667 | 28.2 | 29 | 1.88 |
| 柳川 大晟 | Nippon-Ham | 3/7 | 38 | 0 | 4 | 1.000 | 37 | 41 | 1.95 |
| 木下 里都 | Hanshin | 3/7 | 27 | 0 | 3 | .750 | 32 | 35 | 1.97 |
| 木村 光 | SoftBank | 3/7 | 33 | 0 | 3 | 1.000 | 31 | 25 | 2.32 |
| 赤星 優志 | Yomiuri | 3/7 | 33 | 0 | 5 | .714 | 42.1 | 30 | 2.34 |
Sawamura Award Winners (since 2002)
Winners from 2002 onward (source: npb.jp award pages). Earlier winners are not listed because npb.jp has no official list for those years.
| Year | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 上原 浩治 | Yomiuri |
| 2003 | 斉藤 和巳 | Fukuoka Daiei |
| 2003 | 井川 慶 | Hanshin |
| 2004 | 川上 憲伸 | Chunichi |
| 2005 | 杉内 俊哉 | Fukuoka SoftBank |
| 2006 | 斉藤 和巳 | Fukuoka SoftBank |
| 2007 | ダルビッシュ 有 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham |
| 2008 | 岩隈 久志 | Tohoku Rakuten |
| 2009 | 涌井 秀章 | Saitama Seibu |
| 2010 | 前田 健太 | Hiroshima Toyo |
| 2011 | 田中 将大 | Tohoku Rakuten |
| 2012 | 攝津 正 | Fukuoka SoftBank |
| 2013 | 田中 将大 | Tohoku Rakuten |
| 2014 | 金子 千尋 | ORIX |
| 2015 | 前田 健太 | Hiroshima Toyo |
| 2016 | Ｋ．ジョンソン | Hiroshima Toyo |
| 2017 | 菅野 智之 | Yomiuri |
| 2018 | 菅野 智之 | Yomiuri |
| 2019 | No winner | — |
| 2020 | 大野 雄大 | Chunichi |
| 2021 | 山本 由伸 | ORIX |
| 2022 | 山本 由伸 | ORIX |
| 2023 | 山本 由伸 | ORIX |
| 2024 | No winner | — |
| 2025 | 伊藤 大海 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham |
Frequently asked questions
What are the Sawamura Award criteria?
Seven items: 25+ games, 8+ complete games, 15+ wins, .600+ win percentage, 180+ innings, 150+ strikeouts, ERA 2.50 or lower (complete games and innings were relaxed from 2026). 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?
Hiromi Ito (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham) won his first in 2025. Before that, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix) won three straight from 2021 to 2023, with no winner in 2024.