Nippon Professional Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award
The Nippon Professional Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award is given to one player in each league of Central League and Pacific League.
It is given to a player who makes a major comeback from an illness, injury, or a long-term slump. The Pacific and Central leagues have different criteria for the award, with the Pacific League having a much stricter criteria.The award is also not an annual award and is only given on occasion if a player meets the criteria specified by each league.
Yūdai Ōno won the award in 2025,[1] the first Central League player to win the award since Daisuke Matsuzaka in 2018.[2] The most recent Pacific League to win the Comeback Player of the Year was Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes player Koki Morita in 2001.[3][4]
NPB Comeback Player of the Year Award
| Year | Player | Team | League | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Kōzō Ishioka | Yakult Swallows | Central | |
| 1975 | Sōhachi Aniya | Hanshin Tigers | Central | |
| 1976 | Kazuhide Funada | Yakult Swallows | Central | |
| 1977 | Keishi Asano | Yomiuri Giants | Central | |
| 1978 | Osamu Nomura | Taiyo Whales | Central | |
| 1979 | Toshiyuki Mimura | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Central | |
| 1980 | Kenichi Yazawa | Chunichi Dragons | Central | |
| Hiromitsu Kadota | Nankai Hawks | Pacific | ||
| 1981 | Taira Fujita | Hanshin Tigers | Central | |
| 1984 | Takamasa Suzuki | Chunichi Dragons | Central | |
| 1985 | Choji Murata | Lotte Orions | Pacific | |
| 1986 | Tsunemi Tsuda | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Central | |
| 1987 | Tōru Sugiura | Yakult Swallows | Central | |
| Hisao Niura | Taiyo Whales | Central | ||
| 1988 | Shuzo Arita | Yomiuri Giants | Central | |
| 1989 | Takashi Nishimoto | Chunichi Dragons | Central | |
| Takayoshi Nakao | Yomiuri Giants | Central | ||
| 1990 | Sadaaki Yoshimura | Yomiuri Giants | Central | |
| Kazuhiko Endo | Taiyo Whales | Central | ||
| 1991 | Kazuyoshi Ono | Kintetsu Buffaloes | Pacific | |
| Kazuyuki Shirai | Nippon-Ham Fighters | |||
| 1992 | Akimitsu Ito | Yakult Swallows | Central | |
| 1993 | Kenjiro Kawasaki | Yakult Swallows | Central | |
| 1994 | Toshikatsu Hikono | Chunichi Dragons | Central | |
| 1996 | Shinichi Kato | Hiroshima Carp | Central | |
| 1997 | Tomohito Ito | Yakult Swallows | Central | |
| 1998 | Takashi Saito | Yokohama BayStars | Central | |
| Tatsuji Nishimura | Fukuoka Daiei Hawks | Pacific | ||
| 1999 | Shōji Tōyama | Hanshin Tigers | Central | |
| 2000 | Hitoshi Taneda | Chunichi Dragons | Central | |
| 2001 | Toshihide Narimoto | Hanshin Tigers | Central | |
| Koki Morita | Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes | Pacific | ||
| 2002 | Tomonori Maeda | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Central | |
| 2003 | Masafumi Hirai | Chunichi Dragons | Central | |
| Ken Suzuki | Yakult Swallows | Central | ||
| 2004 | Hiroki Kokubo | Yomiuri Giants | Central | |
| 2008 | Keiichi Hirano | Hanshin Tigers | Central | |
| 2012 | Kan Otake | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Central | |
| 2015 | Shohei Tateyama | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | Central | |
| 2017 | Hitoki Iwase | Chunichi Dragons | Central | |
| 2018 | Daisuke Matsuzaka | Chunichi Dragons | Central | |
| 2025 | Yūdai Ōno[1] | Chunichi Dragons | Central | |
Source[4]
See also
- Nippon Professional Baseball#Awards
- Baseball awards#Japan
- Major League Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award
References
- ^ a b 鳥谷越直子 (10 November 2025). "コミッショナー特別表彰は阪神石井、カムバック賞は中日大野 最優秀監督賞は藤川＆小久保両監督" [The Commissioner's Special Award went to Hanshin's Ishii, the Comeback Award went to Chunichi's Ohno, and the Best Manager Award went to Managers Fujikawa and Kokubo.]. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-11-24.
- ^ Calcaterra, Craig (2018-11-12). "Daisuke Matsuzaka wins NPB comeback player of the year award". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
- ^ "さらば球界の名士 盛田幸妃氏、大豊泰昭氏…球界支えた名選手ら逝く" [Farewell to baseball luminaries Yukihi Morita, Yasuaki Otoyo... Great players who the baseball world supported passed away]. スポニチ Sponichi Annex (in Japanese). 2015-12-30. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
- ^ a b "松坂大輔が受賞のカムバック賞、セパで大きく違い？ セ35人目、パは17年間なし" [Daisuke Matsuzaka receives the Comeback Player of the Year Award, but is there a big difference between the Central and Pacific Leagues? He's the 35th Central player to receive the award, and the first in the Pacific League for 17 years.]. Full-Count（フルカウント） ― 野球ニュース・速報・コラム ― (in Japanese). 2018-11-13. Retrieved 2025-11-24.