Hanshin's Haruto Takahashi wins Sawamura Award with 16 wins and 5 complete games - Professional Baseball

The selection committee for the Sawamura Award (chaired by Tsuneo Horiuchi, former Giants manager), which is given to the most successful starting pitcher in professional baseball that year, was held in Tokyo on the 26th, and Hanshin's Haruto Takahashi (30) was selected for the first time.

[Photo Feature] Pitcher who won the Sawamura Eiji Award, complete-game ace starting pitcher

The selection criteria was the same as before: 15 wins, 150 strikeouts, ERA 2.50, pitched in 25 games, and winning percentage of 60%. Starting this year, the number of complete games pitched has been reduced from 10 to 8, and the number of pitches pitched from 200 to 180.

Takahashi completed four criteria with 16 wins (3 losses), 150 strikeouts, an ERA of 1.87, and a winning percentage of 80.42. Chairman Horiuchi explained, ``There are not many pitchers who can save 13 pitches.Five complete games and four shutouts is by far the best.'' The names of Hanshin's Noki Murakami and Yakult's Taichi Yamano, who cleared all four criteria, were also mentioned.

In addition to Mr. Horiuchi, this year's selection committee members are Masatsugu Hiramatsu, Hisashi Yamada, and Masaki Saito. Kimiyasu Kudo was removed from the selection committee when he became Chunichi's manager.

◇ Biography of Haruto Takahashi

Haruto Takahashi joined Hanshin in 2018 as the second pick in the draft from Asia University. In 2019, he became a part of the starting rotation midway through the season and appeared in 19 games. It was his first shutout victory in 2021. This season, he reached the required number of pitches for the first time and recorded 16 wins. He won the title of having the most wins and winning percentage. 181 cm, 82 kg. Left-handed pitcher, left-handed hitter. 30 years old. Born in Shizuoka Prefecture.