The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks fittingly received the nation's top pro sports accolade for their dominant season in 2017.
The Nippon Professional Baseball club was bestowed the grand prize for the first time at the 50th Japan Pro Sports Awards in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Boxer Ryota Murata, Indy 500 champ Takuma Sato and the Hawks' record-setting closer and 2017 Pacific League MVP Dennis Sarfate each received outstanding performance awards.
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