2013 – The MVP awards in Nippon Pro Baseball come as no surprise. Masahiro Tanaka of the Rakuten Golden Eagles is the unanimous winner of the 2013 Pacific League Most Valuable Player Award after going 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA, the only pitcher in NPB annals to lead in wins without losing a game. Meanwhile, Wladimir Balentien of the Yakult Swallows takes home the 2013 Central League Most Valuable Player Award, the first player ever to win from a last-place team; Balentien had set a new NPB home run record with 60.