By Miguel Rapetti
Nov 28, 2023, 20:28 PM EST
Japanese star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto won his third Most Valuable Player (MVP) award of the season in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) on Tuesday on the eve of what will be his foray into Major League free agency for the 2024 season. .
Yamamoto completed the MVP triplet consecutively just a few days later and was also awarded his third Sawamura Award, which recognizes the work of the best pitcher of the season as carried out by the Major Leagues with the Cy Young.
The 26-year-old pitcher had almost unanimity in the selection, receiving 259 of the 267 votes for first place, enough to win the award and seal his farewell to Japan as one of the historic ones.
Yamamoto received the recognition after a historic season in which the right-handed pitcher finished with a 16-6 record and an almost immaculate 1.21 ERA.
In addition, he participated in 164 innings of action and one of the most impressive data he left is that he only allowed two home runs during his work on the mound throughout the entire campaign.
With the consecutive MVP hat-trick, Yamamoto also managed to match two legends of Japanese soccer: Ichiro Suzuki and Hisashi Yamada. The former Seattle Mariners player won the awards in the 1994-1995-1996 seasons while Yamada won it in the 1976-1977-1978.
However, the trio was far from reaching the unbeatable Sadaharu Oh who won nine Most Valuable Player awards during his 21 years of action (1959-1980).
Regarding the designation, Yamamoto had words of joy when compared to Suzuki, who he said was one of his admirers.
“He is a legend of the franchise. I’m glad I did the same as him. Everyone admires him, and I am one of them,” Yamamoto commented on Ichiro Suzuki, who also played for Orix, the pitcher’s team.
“I can’t say I’ve left it all on the field, but I’ve had a great career in professional baseball. “I am very happy because it is important for me to continue contributing,” Yamamoto added when receiving the award in front of the media.
With the Japan chapter closed, Yamamoto must now demonstrate why he is one of the most followed baseball players in all of free agency, being sought by more than 10 Major League teams, among which the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles stand out. Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs, among others.