TBNL: Hiromi Itoh wins the Sawamura Award

Nippon-Ham Fighters right-hander Hiromi Itoh has won the NPB’s Sawamura Award. Itoh was 14-8 in 27 starts, posting a 2.52 ERA over 196.2 IP with 195 strikeouts. The 28-year-old is the first Fighters pitcher to win the award since Yu Darvish in 2007.

The Sawamura Award is often referred to as the NPB’s “equivalent to the Cy Young,” which isn’t truly accurate for two key reasons.

First, the winner is chosen by a five-member selection committee made up of retired pitchers who won the award during their careers. A pitcher typically needs to meet (most of) seven statistical milestones to be eligible:

Next year, the requirements for complete games (8) and innings pitched (180) are reportedly being slightly lowered.

Second, only one winner is announced for both the Central and Pacific Leagues. There is also no guarantee that the Sawamura Award will be presented every year. If the committee doesn’t feel that any candidate is deserving, they are not required to select a winner. This happened as recently as 2024.

The award was established in 1947 to honor the contributions of the late Eiji Sawamura. In addition to being one of the early stars of the NPB, Sawamura first made a name for himself as a 17-year-old pitching in an exhibition game against MLB All-Stars. The right-hander allowed one hit in the game, a solo home run to Lou Gehrig, and famously struck out four consecutive future Hall of Famers (Charlie Gehringer, Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, and Gehrig). Sawamura was killed in 1944 when his ship was sunk during World War II.

Following a 15-28 start to the 2025 season, Baltimore fired manager Brandon Hyde and named third base coach Tony Mansolino the interim manager. The Orioles went 60-59 under Mansolino over the rest of the season.

There was some early thought that the team might bring Mansolino back, but Baltimore instead focused on candidates outside the organization. On Monday, Craig Albernaz was named as the Orioles’ new manager.

Albernaz, who turns 43 on Thursday, has been a popular name among manager openings since last offseason. Both the White Sox and Marlins viewed him as a finalist for their openings before Albernaz withdrew his name from consideration to remain with the Cleveland Guardians.

A former catcher, Albernaz batted .199/.276/.254 over a nine-year career in the minor leagues before shifting to coaching. He managed a pair of Rays’ affiliates and spent several years as a bullpen and catching coordinator with the Giants before landing his role on the Guardians’ staff.

Stephen Strasburg is back, sort of. Strasburg was named a special assistant to the head coach at his alma mater, San Diego State, on Monday. Stras was one of the NCAA’s most dominant pitchers during his tenure with the Aztecs and was named the Golden Spikes Award winner in 2009 before being selected first overall in the MLB Draft by the Nationals. The right-hander was a three-time All-Star and was 113-62 with a 3.24 ERA (127 ERA+) and 1,723 strikeouts over his 13-year career.

The Mets have zeroed in on a new hitting coach, hiring Troy Snitker. The son of the recently retired Braves manager Brian Snitker will replace Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes, who shared the role last season. Snitker spent the past seven years in the same role with the Astros before being dismissed at the end of the season.

New York and first base coach Antoan Richardson appear likely to part ways after disagreeing on terms for a contract extension. Richardson had been with the Mets since 2023 after spending the four prior seasons in the same role with the Giants.

After nine years of working in various roles throughout the organization, Astros pitching coach Bill Murphy will be named the Pirates’ new head pitching coach. Pittsburgh fired both pitching coach Oscar Marin and assistant pitching coach Brent Strom after the season.