Kintetsu Buffaloes outfielder Tuffy Rhodes and Yakult Swallows first baseman Roberto Petagine were named Most Valuable Players of the Pacific and Central Leagues, respectively, for the 2001 season on Saturday.
Rhodes, an Ohio native and a former Chicago Cub, tied the Japan pro baseball single-season home run record of 55 this year, formerly achieved by Sadaharu Oh of the Yomiuri Giants in 1964.
In 140 games, his season average was .327 -- fourth highest in the league -- racking up 180 hits while driving in 131 runs. He topped the PL in home runs and runs scored (137) and served as one of the the key hitters in the Kintetsu lineup this year.
Venezuelan slugger Petagine, who won the CL home-run title in '99 with 44 home runs, belted 39 homers this year for his second homer crown. He averaged .322, third best in the league, with 149 hits and a CL-high 127 RBIs in 138 games.
Both received the honor for the first time.