Seibu Lions outfielder Shinya Hasegawa received the "Nippon Life Most Valuable Player Award" for the 2026 Nippon Life Interleague Series on the 18th. At a press conference held at a hotel in Osaka, he expressed his joy, saying, "I'm honestly very happy."

In the interleague series, he played in 16 games, recording 22 hit in 60 At Bat bats for a batting average of .367, with 2 Home Run and 9 RBI. He made a significant contribution to the team's first-ever interleague championship, including hitting walk-off hits in two consecutive games against Hiroshima on the 9th and 10th (at Belluna Dome). He is the first Seibu Lions player to receive this award, and it is a first for a player who came up through the development program to win the award in NPB history.

He became the third player in the team to finish hitter in interleague play. In the final game on the 16th, Hanshin Tigers (Koshien), where he ranked second in batting average, he started as the third batter and first baseman, recording 4 At Bat 2 hit. In the eighth inning with a one-run lead, he hit a slow ball to shortstop and headed it to first base. He claimed the infield hit and secured the title, saying, "Maybe I was lucky to snatch the top hitter with my head-sliding with determination. I want to succeed every day, but winning a proper title despite the short period gave me confidence," he said proudly.

Regarding being the first player to receive the award from the development league, he smiled and said, "I'm happy to have made my mark in the history of professional baseball. Professional baseball is a sport that gives dreams to children, so I want to become a player they can look up to. I want to show that even from the development league, you can succeed if you work hard." Similarly, Softbank Hawks 's Shuto and Makihara Dai, who also came up from the development league, are members of the Samurai Japan team. "I'm aware of it. I want to work hard with the aim of becoming a top-class player. (Samurai Japan) is my goal," he said, also dreaming of joining the national team in the future.

When asked how he plans to use the 2 million yen prize money, Hasegawa said, “My parents and family come to the games, so I want them to watch from good seats—like those on the bench or behind backstop.” He explained that he wants to use the money to repay his family for their continued support.Looking ahead, he expressed his determination: “Personally, my goal is to play 150 games this season hit, so I want to achieve that first. As a team, we’re aiming for the league championship and the national title, and we want to build up our wins one game at a time.”

Hasegawa joined the team in 2020 as the second pick in the developmental draft from Tsuruga Kehi High School. He was promoted to the main roster in July 2022, his second year as a professional. So far this season, he has played in 59 games, recording 52 hits At Bat 176 hit for a batting average of .295, 8 Home Run, and 24 RBI, showing consistent performance.