Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. announced on the 15th that Taiga Funasako (The Giants) from the Central League and Akira Yagi (Lotte) from the Pacific League have won the new 'Sompo Japan HIKESHI Award,' which was established to honor relief pitchers starting from the 2026 regular season.

Both award-winning players will be presented with a prize of 1 million yen and a trophy at the awards ceremony to be held on Thursday, November 19th.

▼ "Sompo Japan HIKESHI Award"

[Central League

1st Place, 48 points, Hiroki Funasako (The Giants)

2nd place, 47 points, Kenshin Hotta (The Giants)

3rd Place, 42 Points, Martinez (The Giants)

4th Place, 34 Points, Ryosuke Jingu (Hanshin Tigers)

5th Place, 33 Points, Kota Nakagawa (The Giants)

[Pacific League]

1st place 62 points Akira Yagi (Lotte)

2nd place, 53 points, Gota Suzuki (Softbank Hawks)

3rd Place 47 Points Mizuki Hori (Nippon-Ham)

4th place 44 points Yuki Tsumori (Softbank Hawks)

5th place 40 points Machado (Orix Buffaloes)