Overview
The Sawamura Award, established in 1947, is NPB's most prestigious pitching honor named after Eiji Sawamura, a legendary fastball pitcher who was killed in World War II. The selection criteria include seven benchmarks: 25+ games, 8+ complete games, 15+ wins, .600+ winning percentage, 180+ innings pitched, 150+ strikeouts, and a sub-2.50 ERA (the complete-game and innings thresholds were relaxed from 10 and 200 in 2026, the award's 80th year). Masaichi Kaneda and Shigeru Sugishita share the record for most wins at three each. As modern pitching has shifted toward bullpen specialization, fewer pitchers meet the complete-game and innings benchmarks, leading to more years with no recipient - the 2026 relaxation responds to that gap. Since 2014, the selection committee has moved away from strict adherence to the criteria, instead making holistic evaluations. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix) won three consecutive awards from 2021 to 2023, cementing his status as the era's dominant ace, and Hiromi Ito (Nippon-Ham) took his first in 2025. Unlike league-specific awards, the Sawamura Award is given to the best starting pitcher across both the Central and Pacific Leagues - in principle a single winner, though some years have produced two co-winners.