Ono Named Best Pitcher in Japan

Pitcher Yutaka Ono, who had a 13-7 record for the third-place Hiroshima Toyo Carp baseball team, was chosen Monday for the 1988 Sawamura Award, given annually to the best pitcher in Japan’s Central League.

A league official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said 5 former pitchers chose the 33-year-old Ono, whose 1.70 earned-run average and 14 complete games were tops in the league. Ono hurled 4 shutouts and struck out 183 batters during the season.

The award, named after Eiji Sawamura, a fastball pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants before World War II, is given annually to the league’s best pitcher by the nationally circulated newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, owner of the Giants. Sawamura died in the war in 1944.

The official said Ono will receive $3,900 and a trophy at a ceremony Nov. 24.