Shohei Ohtani of the MLB Angels received the trophy at a ceremony commemorating his performance in this year's WBC = World Baseball Classic before the game on the 26th.
The ceremony was held at Angel Stadium, home of Anaheim, California, before the game against the Marlins on the 26th, and Ohtani participated in the ceremony in uniform.
Ohtani was active in pitching in the WBC with 2 wins and 1 save, 1.86 ERA, batting average 4/3/5 as a batter, 1 home run, 8 RBI, leading Japan to his third championship, and was selected in the "All WBC Team", which is the MVP = Most Valuable Player and Best Nine of the tournament, in two categories: pitcher and designated hitter.
Trout of the United States and Sandoval of Mexico, who were also selected as "All-WBC Teams" by the Angels, also participated in the ceremony, and each of the three received a commemorative trophy and responded to the applause from the crowd with a smile.
In addition, Ling Yu Kobayashi, the gold medalist in the men's ski jumping event at the Beijing Olympics, came to watch the match.
Kobayashi, who is from Iwate Prefecture like Otani, smiled, saying, "I am considering holding an off-season training camp in the United States, but I want to motivate myself by watching Otani Japan.
Kobayashi has been working as a professional since last month, which is unusual for a Japan jumper, and he seemed to be inspired by Otani, who is two years older than him, saying, "Not only Iwate but everyone in Japan is cheering for Otani, and it is my goal to become that kind of person."