Digital Extra – Okinawan native Taira wins the Pacific League Rookie of the Year award after recording no losses and 33 holds as a relief pitcher for the Seibu Lions

Digital Extra – Okinawan native Taira wins the Pacific League Rookie of the Year award after recording no losses and 33 holds as a relief pitcher for the Seibu Lions

Digital Extra


December 17, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

The NPB Awards, which announces the season award winners in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), was held December 17, and the Rookie of the Year in the Pacific League was awarded to Seibu Lions’ right-handed relief pitcher Kaima Taira (21, Yaeyama Shoko High School). He is the first Okinawan native to win the rookie of the year award in professional baseball.

Taira was drafted by the Lions in the fourth round in 2017, entering the team in 2018.

This season, in his third year on the team, Taira was used as the set-up man, coming in just before the closer, appearing in a league high 54 games. In those games he recorded a record of one win, zero losses, a save, and a 1.87 ERA. He also recorded 33 holds, coming in second in the Pacific League to SoftBank’s Liván Moinelo’s 38. The outstanding achievement of making so many appearances without recording a single loss left a lasting impression across the league.

In July in a game against Rakuten, Taira recorded a fastball at a blistering 160 kph, the sixth fastest among Japanese players. He also showed an amazing presence as a relief pitcher, not allowing a single hit or earned run in his first 10 appearances of the season.

(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)

 

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