Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Iromi Itoh wins NPB's Eiji Sawamura Award

Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Hiromi Itoh won the Eiji Sawamura Award, recognizing the most outstanding starting pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

The 28-year-old posted a 14-8 record and a 2.53 earned run average (ERA) in 27 starts for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of the Pacific League. He struck out 195 batters in 196.2 innings pitched. Itoh led both the Pacific and the Central League in wins and strikeouts.

The right-hander became the first pitcher to earn the Sawamura Award since Yoshinobu Yamamoto claimed his third straight in 2023. No other pitcher met the criteria in 2024.

Itoh pitched out of the bullpen in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He threw five scoreless innings over three appearances, including the Gold Medal Game against USA.

Eiji Sawamura was born in 1917. He pitched the first no-hitter in Japanese Professional Baseball on September 25, 1936. From 1937 to 1943, he pitched 105 games, going 63-22 with a 1.74 ERA and 554 strikeouts. He died as a soldier of the 23rd Infantry Division when the USS Sea Devil torpedoed and sank the troop ship Hawaii Mary off Sakushima on December 2, 1944. The Sawamura Award has recognised the most outstanding pitcher since 1947. Eiji Sawamura was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1959.