The IV WBSC Congress hosted the WBSC's Annual Awards ceremony in Taipei City on Tuesday, 6 July. The 2021 Awards to players and coaches and National Federations were based the outcome of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The 2021 Baseball Player of the Year award went to Samurai Japan National Team infielder/DH Tetsuto Yamada, who batted .350 with one home run and 7 RBI in five games at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Yamada was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Tokyo 2020 baseball tournament.
The 2021 Softball Player of the Year honor went to Japan National Team member Yamato Fujita, who was the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Softball MVP. Fujita batted .389 with 3 home runs and 7 RBI over six games at Tokyo 2020.
Both Fujita, who plays for Bic Camera Takasaki in the JD League, and Yamada, who plays for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), made their respective WBSC Tokyo 2020 "All-Olympic" teams.
The majority of the WBSC's 2020 Awards of the Year were cancelled due to the suspended international activity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Softball Coach of the Year honor went to Reika Utsugi (Japan), who managed Japan to a Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games. The Baseball Coach of the Year award went to Atsunori Inaba (Japan), who managed Samurai Japan at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
The Japan Softball Association (JSA) received the Softball Federation of the Year 2021 Award. The Baseball Federation of Japan (BFJ) received the Baseball Federation of the Year 2021 Award. They both celebrated Olympic gold medals on home soil.
You may also be interested in:
- Federation Focus: JSA
- Federation Focus: BFJ
WBSC also awarded Hitto Nagayoshi, the MVP of the U-18 Men's Softball World Cup, the Softball Player of the Year 2020.
The WBSC also awarded best international umpires and coaches.
The Softball Umpire of the Year 2020 went to Geneviève Gaudreau (Canada), while the Softball Umpire of the Year 2021 went to Kyira Cox (Australia).
The Baseball Umpire of the Year 2021 went to Omar Peralta Cardenas (Cuba).
The Scorer of the Year 2020 went to Oscar Izaguirre (Venezuela), while the Scorer of the Year 2021 went to Pablo Carpio (Spain).
The awards recognise those in baseball and softball who have contributed to its growth.
