Fukuoka Softbank Hawks right-hander Kazumi Saito won the Sawamura Award on Monday after a stellar season that saw him sweep four major pitching titles in the Pacific League.
Japanese baseball officials unanimously picked Saito, making him the first Pacific League player to win the Sawamura Award for the second time.
He led the league with a 1.75 earned run average, 18 wins, 205 strikeouts and a .783 winning percentage in 26 starts.
The 28-year-old is the 11th pitcher in Japanese baseball history to win the four individual titles in the same year. "This is the greatest honor for any pitcher and I'm satisfied more with this than the one I received three years ago because some of my stats are much better this time," said Saito, who also had league highs of five shutouts and 201 innings pitched this year.
The annual award is traditionally given to the best pitcher in Japanese baseball. It is named after the late Eiji Sawamura, the legend who died in combat in 1944 while serving in the Japanese military during World War II.