SIS is pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 NPB Fielding Bible Awards.
This marks the 5th season that we have honored the best defensive players in NPB. The awards are chosen by a panel of experts who consider statistical analysis, the eye test, and any other factors that they wish to utilize.
We are also announcing the winner of the NPB Defensive Player of the Year award.
This year’s winners are:
| Position | Name | Team |
| Player of the Year | Chusei Mannami | Nippon-Ham |
| 1B | Kazuma Okamoto | Yomiuri |
| 2B | Naoki Yoshikawa | Yomiuri |
| 3B | Ryoya Kurihara | Softbank |
| SS | Kenta Imamiya | Softbank |
| LF | Kensuke Kondoh | Softbank |
| CF | Ukyo Shuto | Softbank |
| RF | Chusei Mannami | Nippon-Ham |
| C | Yuudai Yamamoto | Yokohama |
| P | Kazuya Ojima | Chiba Lotte |
| Multi-Position | Orlando Calixte | Chunichi |
Defensive Player of the Year
Nippon-Ham Fighters right fielder Chusei Mannami won the Defensive Player of the Year award for the second consecutive year. As good as Mannami was in 2023, he was even better in 2024.
He improved upon his already amazing 12 Outfield Arm Runs Saved in 2023 by totaling an NPB-best 18 in 2024. He had 8 assists that did not involve the use of a cutoff man. Only one other NPB right fielder had even half that many. And only 29% of runners took an extra base on balls he fielded (NPB average is 38%). Mannami’s presence was felt daily. He played in 136 out of 143 regular season games.
“The numbers and the eye test, he’s the whole package,” said Awards voter John E. Gibson of the Japan Baseball Weekly Podcast. “His cannon arm rivals that of Ichiro Suzuki and Yoenis Céspedes.”
Added voter Yuri Kurasawa, who runs a popular YouTube and Twitter (X) account covering Japanese baseball: “He runs good routes and doesn’t let balls get behind him. And if a ball hits the wall, he has a Mookie Betts-ness to him in that he can field the carom off the wall and throw the ball right back in to hold baserunners.”
Other winners
The Softbank Hawks had four Fielding Bible Award winners – third baseman Yuri Kurihara, shortstop Kenta Imamiya, left fielder Kensuke Kondoh, and center fielder Ukyo Shuto.
Softbank led NPB in Defensive Runs Saved, our stat measuring overall defensive value. Imamiya, Kondoh and Kurihara all led at their respective positions.
The Yomiuri Giants, who led the Central League in Defensive Runs Saved, had two winners – first baseman Kazuma Okamoto and second baseman Naoki Yoshikawa.
The Yokohama Bay Stars (catcher Yuudai Yamamoto), Chiba Lotte Marines (pitcher Kazuya Ojima) and Chunichi Dragons (multi-position Orlando Calixte) had one winner each. Calixte, whose MLB career spanned 31 games over two seasons with the Royals and Giants in 2015 and 2017, played at least 15 games at first base, third base, center field, and left field this season.
Kondoh and Yoshikawa each also won a Fielding Bible Award in 2023. Shuto also won once before, taking the multi-position Award in 2020.
Our expert panel consisted of NPB media: Jim Allen (Japan Baseball Weekly), John E. Gibson (Japan Baseball Weekly), and Yuri Karasawa (Yakyu Cosmopolitan), with oversight from Mark Simon, editorial lead at Sports Info Solutions.
“We are honored to once again reward the best defensive players in NPB,” Simon said. “Defensive excellence is a foundational component of success in baseball worldwide and we can use both our metrics and the eye test to assess it in a way that wasn’t possible just a few years ago.”
The NPB Fielding Bible Awards have been presented by SIS since 2020. SIS’ mission is to enhance and optimize the decision-making process for sports teams, sportsbooks, and sports fans. It has been an industry leader in baseball since its founding in 2002.
