With the 2024 season in the rearview mirror, awards season has begun in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The league awarded its MVP Awards, with outfielder Kensuke Kondoh taking honors in the Pacific League and starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano claiming the award in the Central League.
Kondoh, 31, claims his first MVP Award in his 13th professional season and second season with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. The six-time All-Star played in 129 games this season, hitting 19 home runs and 72 RBIs, stealing 11 bases while hitting for a .314 batting average. Kondoh led the Pacific League in 2023 in home runs (26) and RBIs (87).
Tomoyuki Sugano brings home his third career Central League MVP Award. He previously won the award in 2014 and 2020. The 35-year-old right-hander is in his 12th season as a member of the Yomiuri Giants, making his debut in 2013. This year, Sugano put together a 15-3 record, a 1.67 ERA in 24 starts, throwing three complete games, one of them being a shutout, striking out 111 batters in 156.2 innings of work, all while only walking 16 batters. Sugano is expected to sign with an MLB organization this winter.
In 2023, pitchers Shoki Murakami and Yoshinobu Yamamoto received the honor last year of being awarded MVP. It will be intriguing to see if Kensuke Kondoh can follow up on his stellar season as he enters the third year of his seven-year deal with the Hawks. As for Sugano, it will be fascinating to see which MLB team is willing to take a chance on the NPB veteran.
