Koji Chikamoto, who won the Golden Glove Award for the third consecutive year in Hanshin, which became the number one player in Japan for the first time in 38 years, expressed his joy at the Golden Glove Award, which is given to outstanding defensive players in professional baseball, saying, "I have been working hard to achieve this award, so I am happy to be able to win it back-to-back."

The Golden Glove Award ceremony was held at a hotel in Tokyo on the afternoon of the 30th, and the winning players appeared in suits.

At the beginning, each player was presented with a golden trophy in the shape of a glove or mitt.

After that, Hanshin's Chikamoto, who received a league-leading 287 votes and became the third Central League outfielder to win the award for the third time in three consecutive years, said, "I'm happy to be able to win this award in a row because I've been working hard to achieve this award. I want to do my best again next year."

In addition, Takumi Nakano, a third-year player at Hanshin who won the award for the first time in the second round, said, "I didn't expect to receive this award in my first year as a converter, so I'm honestly happy and it gives me confidence.

On the other hand, Rakuten's Ryosuke Tatsumi, a Pacific League outfielder who won the award for the third time in three consecutive years, appeared in a gold jacket last year, but Kotoshi appeared in a white top and bottom suit, saying, "I came here as a groom because it is my first year of marriage, and I want to wear a gold suit next season."

Central League Winner's Discourse

▽ Katsuki Higashi, a sixth-year pitcher who became the first DeNA pitcher to win the award, including its predecessors Taiyo and Yokohama, said, "I'm happy because I've always wanted to decorate my room with a golden glove someday, and I want to handle the pitcher's grounder well so that I can win the award again next year."

▽ As for catcher, Hanshin's Seishiro Sakamoto won the award for the first time in his eighth year, and he said, "I'm really happy because I decided to play defense in this world when I entered the professional ranks."

▽ Yusuke Oyama, also of Hanshin, won the award for the first time in his seventh year, and said, "I'm happy because it's one of the awards I've been aiming for for a long time, and I'm glad that I was able to defend it for a year without giving up my position to another player."

▽ The third was DeNA veteran Toshiro Miyazaki, who won the award for the second time in five years, saying, "I'm very happy, and even if it's good, it's not good if it doesn't happen next year, so I want to do my best to keep going."

▽ In shortstop, Seiya Kinami of Hanshin won the award for the first time in his fifth year, and he said, "I'm really happy because I didn't think I would be able to win it, and I was able to have a fulfilling year as a team and as a person."

Yuki Okabayashi, a fourth-year player in Chunichi who won the award for the second time in two consecutive years, said,
"I'm happy to be able to win the award after last year because defense has been the most important thing for me.

▽ Masashi Kuwahara of DeNA, who won the award for the second time in six years, said, "I wanted to win the award for the second time as soon as possible, so I'm happy that it took six years.

Pacific League Winners' Stories

▽ Orix pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who received the award for the third time in three consecutive years with a league-leading 232 votes, said, "I am very happy to receive the Gold Glove.

▽ As for catcher, Orix's Kenya Wakatsuki won the award for the first time in his 3th year, saying, "I'm happy because it was the award I was aiming for, and although we lost the Japan Series at the end, it was a fulfilling year for us both as a team and as individuals."

▽ SoftBank's Akira Nakamura won the award for the fourth time in four consecutive years, and said, "I came here with this award as my goal, so I'm happy to win it for the fourth time, and I want to do my best to win it again next year."

▽ Lotte's Shogo Nakamura won the award for the third time in two years, saying, "I'm happy to win the award because I've been reviewing my defense again since last offseason.

▽ The third award was won by ORIX's Yuma Mune for the third time in three consecutive years, and he said, "At the beginning of every year, I usually think that I will not be able to get it, but I am happy that I got it, and I will continue to do it as much as possible."

▽ In shortstop, Seibu's Sosuke Genda won the award for the sixth time in a row, saying, "I'm happy to win the award because it motivates me every year.

《Outfielder》
▽ Japan Ham's Nakamasa Manha, who won the award for the first time in his fifth year, said, "I'm honestly happy, and I think the reason why I was able to send the ball sharply was because I hit the wall a lot when I was little. It was my first year at the new stadium and there were some difficulties, but I felt my growth at the wonderful stadium. Next year, we want to win more games and win the championship."

SoftBank's Kensuke Kondo, who won the award for the first time in his 3th year, said, "To be honest, I thought it was an unrelated award, so I was very happy when I heard the news of the award. I think the accumulation of these things has gone in a good direction. SoftBank has been away from winning the championship for the past few years, so I want to do my best to contribute to winning the league title and becoming the best team in Japan."