Hochi Shimbun Co., Ltd. Giants pitcher Tomoyuki Kanno wins the 25th Golden Spirit Award

[Hochi Shimbun Co., Ltd.] Giants pitcher Tomoyuki Kanno wins the 25th Golden Spirit Award ​
Hochi Shimbun Co., Ltd. Press release: November 13, 2024 Giants pitcher Tomoyuki Kanno wins the 25th Golden Spirit Award Support service dog activities: Number of wins x 100,000 yen donation and PR activities
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Giants pitcher Tomoyuki Kanno has been selected as the 25th recipient of the “Golden Spirit Award” established by Hochi Shimbun, which recognizes the social contribution activities of professional baseball players. In 2015, he established the “Sugano Fund” and made a donation based on the number of season official game wins times 100,000 yen to the social welfare corporation Japan Service Dog Association, and in 2019 he became the association’s support ambassador. The company was recognized for its continuous efforts to provide support in a variety of ways, including donations and cooperation in PR activities. [Selection process] Among the 24 players and coaches nominated by 11 teams, excluding DeNA, committee member Sakakibara said, “The time period is one point of view,” citing the names of Hanshin pitcher Yuki Nishi, who has been playing for 14 years, and pitcher Sugano, who has been playing for 10 years, and committee member Sayama also said, “ All committee members endorsed these two, saying, “These two stand out.” Committee member Suzuki also praised Lotte’s Nakamura’s activities, saying, “They are giving courage to the children.” Committee member Kuriyama also recommended Chunichi coach Yamai and Hanshin player Haraguchi. Committee member Mitsuya said, “I feel that Coach Yamai’s policy has been consistent for a long time.” Committee member Yoda praised pitcher Sugano, pitcher Yu Nishi, and coach Yamai as saying, “I feel that all three of them have a strong sense of purpose,” emphasizing the fact that they have been continuing for more than 10 years. Committee member Nagashima, who was absent, said in a written recommendation that his recommendations had been narrowed down to pitchers Sugano and Yu Nishi, saying, “Pitcher Sugano has made a comeback and his ace-level performance stands out.” In the end, pitchers Sugano and Yu Nishi remained, and with their social influence and good results this season as positive factors, it was unanimously decided that pitcher Sugano would receive the award. (Tomoyuki Sugano) Born on October 11, 1989 in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa. 35 years old. He did not join Nippon-Ham, where he was drafted first in the 2011 draft from Tokai University Sagami High School and Tokai University, but joined the Giants as the first draft pick in 2012. This year, he has 15 wins and 3 losses, the second highest winning percentage and the fourth most wins, making him the sixth player in history. Best ERA 4 times, Most strikeouts 2 times. MVP in 2014 and 2020. Received the Sawamura Award for two consecutive years since 2017. He has been in the top nine four times and won the Golden Glove Award five times. 2017 WBC representative from Japan. 186 cm, 95 kg. Right-handed pitcher, right-handed hitter. [Nominated player] Yuki Nishi (Hanshin) Continuing to donate to the “Nippon Foundation Children’s Support Project” since 2011 when he was at Orix. Even after transferring to Hanshin, he has been involved in a wide range of activities, including visiting children’s support facilities and donating medical masks to hospitals. Yuta Iwasada (Hanshin) In the wake of the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake, he wanted to contribute to the local community, so since 2017 he has been donating relief money and equipment based on his own performance to support earthquake recovery and promote baseball to children. . Fumihito Haraguchi (Hanshin) Since 2019, he has been involved in educational activities to spread the word about his experience of overcoming cancer. In addition to financial support based on performance, proceeds from the charity marathon event and merchandise sales will be donated to pediatric cancer medical care facilities and the Japan Cancer Association. Koji Chikamoto (Hanshin) Starting from 2020, 240 local residents of Awaji City will be invited to Koshien Stadium each year. They have also established a general incorporated association for the purpose of supporting remote islands and regional revitalization activities, and donating bats to areas affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake. Coach Daisuke Yamai (Chunichi) In 2013, I began visiting Kesennuma City, which was severely damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake. They continue to interact by sending donations and toys to children’s homes and holding baseball classes at junior high schools in the city. Yudai Ohno (Chunichi) In 2017, we started inviting parents and children from single-parent families to Vantelin Dome four to five times a year. Before the game, they interact with each other by giving away autographed colored papers and cheering goods. Fuku Takato (Chunichi) In 2022, we started the “Fuku Keito Invitation Project” targeting the Nagoya School for the Deaf. After that, he himself suffered from an incurable disease, but they continued to communicate with each other, and last year he returned to the first team, building a relationship of encouragement and encouragement. Yuya Yanagi (Chunichi) In 2022, we began an initiative to invite families whose parents died in car accidents or whose children were left with severe after-effects to Vantelin Dome. Before the match, the players interact with the families they have invited by meeting with them. Tomoyuki Kanno (Giant) We started supporting dogs in 2015 after learning that there was little awareness of service dogs and that many stores refused to allow them. He contributed to raising awareness by donating money to the Japan Service Dog Association, interacting with service dog users, and appearing on the association’s posters and official website. Naoki Yoshikawa (Giant) Started the “Child Dream Project” in 2022. We donate to organizations that continue to work to eliminate children from relative poverty. They also experience the
organization’s activities and cooperate with PR efforts. Kazuma Okamoto (Giant) Originally a dog lover, he started the “HAPPY ANIMAL Project” in 2021 to support animals that have been abandoned or abused. We provide a wide range of support, including donations, PR activities, and the development of charity goods. Yoshihiro Maru (Giant) We started the “Marumeshi Project” in 2021, which supports food for children from impoverished households in Tokyo. In addition to the support money, we donate proceeds from sales of special goods and winning bids at charity auctions, and we also visit facilities. Munetaka Murakami (Yakult) Every year since 2019, we have been donating money to Kumamoto City, which was severely damaged by the Kumamoto Earthquake in April 2016, to help restore Kumamoto Castle. The amount is set according to performance, such as 10,000 yen for each home run. Yoshitaka Isomura (Hiroshima) I have a family member who uses a wheelchair, and I realized how wonderful Mazda Stadium’s barrier-free facilities and staff were, so I started inviting wheelchair users to the stadium in 2022. We also hold social gatherings to cheer up hospitalized patients. Ryoichi Adachi (Orix) In 2021, he started donating to children fighting ulcerative colitis, which he himself suffered from. Every year, we donate 10,000 yen equal to the number of official games played to the Japan Inflammatory Bowel Disease Association. Shogo Nakamura (Lotte) Started supporting people with disabilities through e-sports in 2022. We invite them to ZOZO Marine Stadium and present them with donations. In addition, after meeting a fan boy suffering from childhood cancer, he visited Chiba Children’s Hospital and interacted with him at the stadium before a game in September of this year. Katsuya Kadonaka (Lotte) Started donating to the community chest of his hometown, Ishikawa Prefecture, in 2019. This helps support people with disabilities, and since the amount of money is increased based on the number of hits, it is also a motivating force to be active, “so that we can donate as much as possible.” Eito Takabe (Lotte) I started supporting children with cancer in 2022 because I wanted to help children who were fighting the disease and their families. Every year, they make donations, donate goods, and visit hospitals. Kensuke Kondo (Softbank) From this year, we have started making donations to support children suffering from poverty, mainly in Asia. The content is tied to grades, and he is enthusiastic, saying, “I will do my best to help as many children as possible.” Kodai Norimoto (Rakuten) Since 2019, we have been donating to organizations that support economically disadvantaged children, hoping to give children who are not wealthy a variety of experiences. Through this organization, we also invite children to the stadium and interact with them. Mitsunari Takahashi (Seibu) I started supporting search and rescue dogs in 2021, as I wanted to do activities related to dogs that have been around me since I was a child. In addition to donating money, they also visited the training facility and
experienced it. We are also donating to the “Gunma Green Prefectural Fund” to protect the forests of our hometown, Gunma. Yohei Kagitani, Toshihiro Sugiura, Daisho Tamai (Nippon Ham) Since 2019, the three players from Hokkaido have been providing baseball lessons and equipment to elementary and junior high school teams in the prefecture that do not have nine members, so that they can maintain their desire to play baseball.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/71317/521/71317-521-6ec0b7dbd7043a182e9e786fde1d8678-1365×2700.jpg ◇Golden Spirit Award This award is given to those who are actively engaged in social contribution activities from among those who belong to Japanese professional baseball teams. The selection committee (member name listed separately) meets once a year and selects one candidate from among the candidates recommended by the team and those recommended by the selection committee. Social contribution activities are highly praised in the European and American sports world, and the Roberto Clemente Award of the US Major League Baseball is particularly famous, and is coveted by major leaguers as the highest award in baseball. In Japan, most awards are based on performance in games, and this is the first time that an award system that evaluates
achievements outside the stadium has been introduced. So to speak, “MVP off the field.” The winners will receive a golden trophy (a bronze statue created by Koji Kinutani, professor emeritus at Tokyo University of the Arts) and the Yuji Abe Award (1 million yen). Additionally, Hochi Shimbun will donate 2 million yen to the organization or facility designated by the winner. ◇Golden Spirit Award past winners 1st (1999) Giants, Hideki Matsui 2nd (2000) Nippon-Ham, Atsushi Kataoka 3rd (2001) Kintetsu/Norihiro Nakamura 4th (2002) Yakult Tetsuya Iida 5th (2003) Chunichi/Kazuki Inoue 6th (2004) Hanshin/Norihiro Akahoshi 7th (2005) Lotte B. Valentine 8th (2006) Softbank Tsuyoshi Wada 9th (2007) Yokohama, Daisuke Miura 10th (2008) Rakuten Hisashi Iwakuma 11th (2009) Giants Ogasawara Michihiro 12th (2010) Nippon Ham Darvish 13th (2011) Rakuten/Takeshi Yamazaki 14th (2012) Hanshin/Kyuji Fujikawa 15th (2013) Yakult, Shinya Miyamoto 16th (2014) Seibu/Takumi Kuriyama 17th (2015) Lotte Toshiaki Imae 18th (2016) Giant Tetsuya Utsumi 19th (2017) Hanshin / Minoru Iwata 20th (2018) Lotte Motohito Iguchi 21st (2019) Seibu/Shogo Akiyama 22nd (2021) Hanshin/Yano Yano 23rd (2022) Orix Masanao Yoshida 24th (2023) Nippon-Ham Naoki Miyanishi (The team he belonged to was at the time of the award) Sponsored Hochi Shimbunsha Sponsorship Japan Baseball Organization, General Incorporated Association Sponsorship
i-Investment Co., Ltd., Canon Marketing Japan Co., Ltd., DIP Co., Ltd. [Selection committee] Hideki Kuriyama, former manager of the Japan National Baseball National Team Sadayuki Sakakibara Professional Baseball Commissioner Kazuo Sayama Non-fiction writer. He has deep knowledge of the US Major League Baseball. One of the proponents of the Golden Spirit Award. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021. Toshihiko Suzuki, Vice President of the Japanese Red Cross Society Shigeo Nagashima: Lifetime honorary manager of the Yomiuri Giants. In recognition of his charity work during his playing days, in 1982 he became the first Japanese professional baseball player to have an audience with Pope John Paul II. In 1988, he received the Vatican Cross of Merit from the Vatican City. Yuko Miya, President of the Japan Basketball Association. Won bronze medal at the Los Angeles Olympics as a member of Japan’s women’s volleyball team. Hirohiko Yoda, President and Representative Director of Hochi Shimbun Company (Titles omitted/in alphabetical order) [Inquiries regarding release] Email pr1872@hochi.co.jp