A selection panel for the Sawamura Award has picked no winners of the annual honor for the top pitcher in Japanese baseball for the first time in 16 years, panel members said Tuesday.
Panel members who met in Fukuoka during the Japan Series between the Yomiuri Giants and the Daiei Hawks overlooked all the candidates for the award, saying none of them deserved the award established in 1947.
It was the fourth time that no one was picked for the annual honor named after the late Eiji Sawamura, a legendary Yomiuri Giants fastballer in the early days of Japanese professional baseball.
"We've gradually lowered the selection standards. But I think if we lower them even further, the award will be less valuable," said Kazuhisa Inao, one of the panel's five members.
Among the standards loosely set by the panel are 15 wins, 200 innings pitched, 10 complete games and an ERA of 2.50.