Yomiuri slugger Hideki Matsui has been voted the Central League's Most Valuable Player for the 2000 season by his fellow professionals, the Japanese Professional Baseball Players Association said Tuesday.
Daiei first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka, meanwhile, was named MVP in the Pacific League as 70 percent of players from the 12 teams in the CL and PL cast their votes for the players' player of the season award in their respective leagues.
Matsui last season led Japanese baseball with 42 homers and topped the pros with 108 RBIs, while Matsunaka paced the Hawks to their second straight pennant with a .312 average, 33 HRs and 106 RBIs.