The 55th Mitsui Golden Glove Awards were announced on the 11th, and Orix Buffaloes infielder Kotaro Kobayashi was selected in the Pacific League short stop category. This is his second consecutive year winning the award. In his 7th professional season this year, he played defense for a league-high 1,158 innings and recorded a league-leading fielding percentage of .991 (5 errors).

He is the second player in franchise history to win consecutive awards as a short stop, the first in 48 years since Yutaka Ohashi of the Hankyu Braves (1972–78). This marks the first time an Orix Buffaloes short stop has achieved this feat.

Through the team, he commented: 'This is an award I have long admired, so I am truly happy to have been selected for the second consecutive year. I will continue to value my daily efforts and strive to improve so that I may be chosen for this award many more times in the future.'