Yomiuri Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe's dominant performance in September was recognized Friday, when he was named the Central League's player of the month. His third monthly award of the year ties him with outfielder Alex Ramirez and pitcher Masahiro Yamamoto with the most by a CL player in one season.
Tokyo Yakult Swallows right-hander Shohei Tateyama was named pitcher of the month for the second time this year. Both of the Pacific League's awards went to Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters players: outfielder Yoshio Itoi and closer Hisashi Takeda.
Abe led both leagues with a .447 batting average, a .525 on-base percentage, seven homers and 21 RBIs. The monthly MVP was the sixth of his career. Tateyama, who went 4-0 with a 1.13 ERA, won his third monthly award.
Itoi, whose .608 slugging average and .473 on-base percentage were second in Japan only to Abe's figures, won for the second time in his career. Takeda set a PL record for saves in one month with 11 to earn his first monthly award in a month that saw Fukuoka Softbank Hawks ace Tadashi Settsu go 4-0 in five starts with a 1.70 ERA.