The Saitama Seibu Lions' Tomoya Mori, who became just the fourth catcher in Japan pro baseball history to win a league batting title, was named as the Pacific League's Most Valuable Player, while the Yomiuri Giants shortstop Hayato Sakamoto became the first-ever player from that position to earn the honor in the Central League.
The two received their first MVP awards at the Nippon Pro Baseball Awards ceremony on Tuesday night in Tokyo.
Mori, in his sixth season with the PL champion Lions, batted .329 to join Katsuya Nomura, Atsuya Furuta and Shinnosuke Abe as the only catchers to lead their league in hitting.
"It's a honor and a thrill to line up along with such luminaries," the 24-year-old Mori said.
Mori was the first choice on 222 of the 254 ballots of pro baseball media members to easily finish ahead of teammates Takeya Nakamura and Hotaka Yamakawa, accumulating 1,189 points on the basis of five points for a first-place vote, three for second and one for third. Nakamura had 485 points and Yamakawa 214.
In contrast to his easy-going appearance marked by his whiskered chin and dyed-brown hair, Mori was quite sensitive about his bat, and through last season, often used those of his teammates in hopes of escaping a slump.
But this season, he stuck with his own bat throughout after changing from white ash to the harder maple. "It was a big thing that I could go to the plate with a bat that I was comfortable with," he said.
Sakamoto, 30, did not lead the CL in any category, but his overall contribution to the Giants' run to the pennant -- 40 home runs, 94 RBIs and a .312 batting average -- were cited in his earning the MVP with 261 of 299 first-place votes and 1,403 points.
Giants pitcher Shun Yamaguchi, who led the CL in wins, winning percentage and strikeouts, was second with 665 points, and outfielder Yoshihiro Maru third with 306.
"I had never even dreamed of this," Sakamoto said of winning the MVP award in his 13th season, "so I'm honestly overjoyed."
Sakamoto started the season on a high note, setting a CL record by reaching base in the first 36 games. He finished this season 116 hits away from 2,000 for his career.
Meanwhile, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks right-hander Rei Takahashi, who won 12 games for the Japan Series champions, was named the PL's Rookie of the Year.
In the CL, Tokyo Yakult Swallows infielder Munetaka Murakami was named the top rookie after the 19-year-old, in his second season after being drafted out of high school, hit 36 home runs and drove in 96 runs.
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