On October 6, the Persol Pacific League regular season schedule concluded, and the individual titles for the 2026 season were finalized. Kaima Taira pitcher won the best ERA title, earning his third career title following his honors as best reliever (2022) and most saves (2025).

Best ERA pitcher Award

Pitcher Kaima Taira ERA 1.36 (First Award)

Pitcher Taira, who requested to return to the starting rotation this season, recorded a career-high 12 wins. In March and April, he pitched 37 innings across 5 games and was named monthly MVP with an ERA of 0.49. He maintained his form thereafter, showing masterful pitch performances by keeping his monthly ERA under 2.00 in every month except August.

Furthermore, it is an unprecedented feat in NPB history for the same pitcher to win all three titles of Best Reliever, Most Saves, and Best ERA throughout their career.

▼Comment from Pitcher Taira▼
"I am very happy that the figure of 1.36 is a record following Kazuhisa Inao. This season, I thought about what kind of data to look at and what kind of approach to take in order to reduce runs. As a result, I think it was good that I recorded an ERA of 1.36 throughout the season and finished with the lowest ERA in the league. I want to look back not only at the numbers but also at the content of my pitch and improve even further.

Among the three titles I have won so far, this is an award I earned as a starter, which I requested myself. While I believe being a reliever is important, I feel that a starter can make a larger contribution to the team, so achieving results in that role has great meaning. I feel this year was my best one yet, but I want to work toward leveling up even more from here."

Best winning percentage pitcher award

pitcher Koki Kitayama Win Percentage .813 (First Award)

pitcher Koki Kitayama, who earned his first title, showed outstanding stability this season with 13 wins and 3 losses in 24 games, a 2.56 ERA, and a 1.02 WHIP. His Avg was .212, the second lowest in the league. In June specifically, he won his first monthly MVP with a dominant performance of 4 wins and no losses, and a monthly ERA of 0.91. This season, he also won the Most win pitcher award.

▼pitcher Kitayama's Comment▼
"I am full of gratitude for the manager, coaches, and everyone in the organization who has helped me grow over the five years since I joined the team. Also, I am thankful because this is not an award I could have won without the strength of the catcher group who always lead me in games, the fielder group who defend behind me, and the reliever group who close out the games. Furthermore, the cheers from all the fans who always support me gave me strength. Although I was able to receive this prestigious award, I will not become overconfident in my own abilities and will continue to dedicate myself to baseball."

Most win pitcher

Pitcher Koki Kitayama 13 wins (First award)
Pitcher Espinoza 13 wins (First award)

The pitchers who won the most wins title with 13 wins each were Pitcher Kitayama and Espinoza. Pitcher Kitayama, who also won the winning percentage leader award, significantly exceeded his career high of 9 wins recorded last season. In particular, he went 6-1 at ES CON FIELD, turning the cheers of the home crowd into strength and reaching the regulation innings pitched for the second consecutive year.

Pitcher Espinoza left excellent results with 13 wins and 6 losses, an ERA of 2.71, and a WHIP of 1.01 in 23 games, tying his career high. In his first appearance of the season on April 1, he achieved his first shutout game since coming to Japan with 110 pitches, 5 hits, and 7 strike outs, and went on to win four consecutive games from the start, leading the team as a pillar of the starter rotation. In his third year in Japan, he reached the regulation innings pitched for the first time.

▼Comment from Pitcher Espinoza▼
"I am truly proud to have won the most wins title alongside Kitayama. Coming from a country far away and being able to achieve such results here in Japan is a true honor for me, and I will continue to be sincerely grateful for this forever. I would like to offer my congratulations to Kitayama.

I would also like to express my gratitude to all the Pacific League starters who gave me the opportunity to compete together throughout this long season. You all performed truly wonderfully. Seeing many great starters pitching against each other every week made me want to work even harder, prepare better, and give my all every time I stepped onto the mound. I will continue to do my best and keep working hard so that I can continue to grow as a pitcher. I am grateful to everyone who supported me throughout the season."

Most pitcher Award

Pitcher Rikuto Yokoyama 35 saves (First award)
Pitcher Machado 35 saves (First award)
Pitcher Kazuki Sugiyama 35 saves (2nd time, 2 consecutive years)

The Most Valuable Reliever award was shared among three pitchers. Pitcher Yokoyama, who has served as the closer since the second half of last season, appeared in 56 games, tied for 2nd in the league. In May, he recorded 11 saves in 12 games, leaving an impressive record and accumulating saves with stable pitches to win his first title.

Pitcher Machado also won his first title. In March of this year, he participated in the "2026 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC" as a representative of Venezuela and contributed to their world championship, but he showed no signs of its impact during the regular season, performing at full capacity from the opening. He appeared in 51 games and showed stable pitches with an ERA of 1.20.

Pitcher 　Kazuki Sugiyama won the Most Valuable Reliever award for the second consecutive year. Although he was sidelined in mid-April due to an accident involving a left hand fracture, he returned to the first team in early May. He reached 50 appearances in a season for the third consecutive year and recorded a career-high 35 saves.

▼Pitcher Machado Comment▼
"I am very happy and excited to have won the most saves title. Being able to hold the title of save king is very special for me and my family. It is also an honor to share the title with Sugiyama and Yokoyama, two wonderful players. I would like to offer my congratulations to both of them as well. It has truly been a wonderful year in my career. Thank you very much."

Best reliever pitcher Award

Pitcher Shota Suzuki 39 hold points (First award)

Pitcher Shota Suzuki, who appeared in a career-high 55 games and recorded an ERA of 2.39, 33 hold, and 39 hold points, won the Best reliever pitcher award for the first time. Using his powerful fastball as a weapon, he continued to deliver stable pitch as a set-up man, and along with pitcher Rikuto Yokoyama, who won the most saves, he contributed to the team's win as part of the winning pattern.

Most struck out pitcher

Pitcher Kosei Shoji 171 strike outs (First award)

　Kosei Shoji served as the opening day pitcher for the first time this season, getting off to a strong start with three consecutive wins. After recording a strike out rate of 10.91 in March and April, he maintained a high strike out rate despite a difficult period where wins eluded him. In his fourth season, he showed growth, achieving his first professional complete game and first shutout game on September 16th with a powerful performance of 125 pitches, 6 hits, no walks or Hit by Pitch, and 7 strike outs. This resulted in his first-ever title acquisition.

▼Pitcher Shoji Comment▼
"I am truly happy because winning a title was one of my goals. Being able to stay injury-free for the whole year and keep my spot in the rotation has also given me confidence. There were difficult times throughout the season, but I believe this is the result of the support I received from everyone on the team, starting with the catcher. While taking confidence from this award, I still have challenges to address, so I want to keep working hard to contribute to even more team wins in the future."