Baseball: Kikuchi wins 10th straight Golden Glove to tie CL record

The Hiroshima Carp's Ryosuke Kikuchi tied the Central League record Monday for most Golden Glove Awards, earning his 10th selection as top defensive second baseman.

The 32-year-old matched former Carp outfielder Koji Yamamoto by winning the award for a 10th straight year, with three other CL players having also won 10 times.

"I'm really happy and honored to have tied the record of a great former Carp," said Kikuchi.

Yakult Swallows catcher Yuhei Nakamura received a CL-high 231 out of 292 valid votes from Japanese media's baseball writers as he won the award for the third time.

Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Japan Series champion Orix Buffaloes led the Pacific League after garnering 225 out of 261 votes to win for the second straight year.

Yomiuri Giants first baseman Sho Nakata became the ninth player to receive the honor both in the CL and PL, having also earned one with the Nippon Ham Fighters.

Six players were picked for the first time, including two outfielders -- Lotte Marines' Akito Takabe and Orix's Shuhei Fukuda -- who were first-time recipients from the PL.

Carp pitcher Masato Morishita, Yakult Swallows shortstop Hideki Nagaoka and outfielder Yasutaka Shiomi, and Chunichi Dragons outfielder Yuki Okabayashi collected the honor for the first time in the CL.

Orix third baseman Yuma Mune won for the second consecutive season, while his fellow PL winners included two SoftBank Hawks -- catcher Takuya Kai, receiving his sixth in a row, and first baseman Akira Nakamura, who won his third straight. Seibu Lions shortstop Sosuke Genda earned his fifth straight selection.

No players were picked from the CL's DeNA BayStars for the third straight year, while the PL's Nippon Ham had no representative for a second consecutive season.

© Kyodo News