Japanese pitchers continue to strive for the Cy Young Award - the first ever feat for the Dodgers trio of Shohei Otani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki

Pioneer Nomo wins most strikeouts

Looking back at Japanese pitchers who have won titles, Hideo Nomo, who signed with the Dodgers from Kintetsu in 1995, created a sensation in the majors with his tornado pitching style.

That same year, Nomo recorded 13 wins and 6 losses with an ERA of 2.54, striking out 236 batters and winning the most strikeouts title in his first year in the majors. Nomo continued to be a pioneer for Japanese pitchers in the majors, and in the 2001 season while with the Red Sox, he struck out 220 batters to win his second title, raising the reputation of Japanese pitchers and laying the groundwork for them to succeed.

Furthermore, in 2012, pitcher Yu Darvish transferred from Nippon Ham to the Rangers, and the right-handed pitcher, who had recorded a 1.00 ERA for five consecutive years in Japan and was in an unrivaled state when he crossed the ocean, was expected to achieve feats that would surpass those of Nomo. Darvish won 16 games in his first year after the transfer, and in 2013 he struck out 277 batters, winning the strikeout title. Furthermore, in 2020, which was a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he won eight games, making him the only Japanese player to win the title of most wins. In the 2024 season, Darvish reached 200 wins in Japan and the US, and can be said to have reached the level of a legend among Japanese pitchers in the majors, on a par with Nomo.

The Cy Young Award, the biggest honor for a pitcher in the major leagues, has yet to be won by either of them. When the award was first established in 1956, one pitcher was selected from each league, but since the 1967 season, the award has been selected to go to the best player from each league.

In 2013, Darvish and Iwakuma ranked high

The Cy Young Award is decided by a vote of 60 journalists belonging to the Baseball Writers' Association of America, and looking back at past Japanese players, Nomo was nominated in 1995, his rookie year when he had a brilliant performance, and in 1996 when he won 16 games, receiving the fourth most votes. Matsuzaka Daisuke, who transferred from Seibu to the Red Sox, was nominated in his second year in 2008 with an 18-3 record and an ERA of 2.90, which was the same fourth place as Nomo. Both of these players were renowned as monsters in Japan, winning the most wins in their first year, proving the potential of Japanese players, but neither of them made it into the top three.

Meanwhile, after the 2010s, Japanese players one after another made a name for themselves in the majors, and the Cy Young Award came into sight. In 2013, Darvish had the best record in the league with 13 wins and 9 losses, an ERA of 2.83, and 277 strikeouts, while pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, in his second season with the Mariners, also had 14 wins and 6 losses with an ERA of 2.66, and was expected to win the award. However, in the final voting, Darvish came in second in the AL and Iwakuma came in third. The Cy Young Award went to then-Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer, who had reached the milestone of 21 wins and 3 losses, an ERA of 2.90, and 240 strikeouts.

In addition, even in the shortened 2020 season, Japanese players who maintained good form in both leagues had a chance to win the award. In the American League, pitcher Maeda Kenta, who belonged to the Twins, showed stable pitching throughout the season, with an outstanding record of 6 wins and 1 loss and an ERA of 2.70. In addition, Darvish, who was ranked in the league in 2013, was expected to win the award for the first time with an 8-3 record and an ERA of 2.01, becoming the first Japanese player to win the award. However, Maeda came in second in the American League and Darvish came in second in the National League in terms of votes, and they missed out on their long-awaited dream of becoming the first Japanese player to win the Cy Young Award.

Reiwa monster Sasaki joins the Dodgers

No Japanese player has yet won the Cy Young Award, but the Dodgers are a likely candidate for the award in the future. Otani, who finished 4th in the Cy Young Award voting with the Angels in 2022, with a record of 15 wins and 9 losses, an ERA of 2.33, and 219 strikeouts, is expected to return as a two-way player from the 2025 season, and if he can make a full recovery as a pitcher, he has the potential to reach uncharted territory as a Japanese pitcher. In addition, pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who joined the Dodgers in 2024, won the Sawamura Award for three consecutive years with Orix before moving to the United States, and his track record in Japan is one of the best among all Japanese major league players. He is still young at 26 years old, and we can expect him to reach areas that past great pitchers such as Nomo, Darvish, and Maeda have not been able to reach.

Furthermore, on January 17th (January 18th Japan time), it was announced that pitcher Roki Sasaki, who had been aiming to transfer to the majors through the posting system, would transfer to the Dodgers. This means that the three members of Samurai Japan, who were crowned world champions in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2023, are now teammates. If the Dodgers' Japanese trio of Otani, Yamamoto, and Sasaki, who were also in the starting rotation as the team's main pitchers, can realize their potential in the majors, expectations will grow that they will become the first Japanese player to win the Cy Young Award.

So far, Japanese players have shown their brilliance on the major league stage, with Ichiro and Ohtani winning season MVPs and individual titles, and Nomo and Darvish also winning most strikeouts and most wins. Among them, good players cross the ocean every year, and the focus in the future will be on whether a pitcher who continues to perform consistently will win the Cy Young Award. Who will be the first Japanese pitcher to enter that realm?