This season’s Sai Young award was announced on the 11th (12th time in Japan), and Darbish (34) and Kenta Maeda (32) of the Cubs, who were the finalists in each league, missed the top prize to the Japanese pitcher. Both were second in the voting. Right-hander Trevor Bauer (29), who became an FA from the Reds, won the Na League for the first time. Indians right-hander Shane Beaver (25) won League A for the first time with a full vote.

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Top candidate Darvish lost to Bauer by 78 points and finished second. The first-place vote was just 3 to Bauer’s 27. Of the 30 reporters who voted, only one did not cast a single vote on Darvisch, the Dodgers reporter Hoonstra.

Darbish humbly said on Twitter: “I am more than happy to be at Deglom than disappointed for second place.” “I will do my best again to be able to be excited on this day next year,” he renewed his enthusiasm. The second place in the voting is the second time since 2013. The Sai Young Award bonus included in the 6-year contract was not complete, but he won 1 million dollars (about 110 million yen) in second place.

On Twitter, he was filled with the voices of fans lamenting Darbish’s runner-up. Some fans were outraged that he lost the award despite results comparable to Bauer’s, “Yu was robbed of the award” and “Darbish doesn’t require a vote count?” Chicago columnist Brett Taylor criticized the voting results, saying, “Why are there only three votes in first place? Why did some reporters get no votes until fifth place?” “I thought Darbish was right all season, but I changed my mind at the end of the season,” said Baggery, a reporter for The Athletic, who placed Darbish in second place.