Curse of the Monthly MVP
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And the (cursed) winners were: ...
Pacific League - Pitching
Kobayashi Masahede (Marines) - Kobayashi saved 6 games in the month of June, setting a new Pacific League record of 11 straight saves. Kobayashi leads the PL with 21 Save Points (all saves) and has only given up 4 runs in 23 2/3rd innings of work (1.04 ERA). However, he was cursed last night at Osaka Dome when Nakamura, the only batter he faced in the bottom of the 10th, hit a sayonara home run against him for his first loss of the season.
Pacific League - Batting
Tuffy Rhodes (Buffaloes) - Rhodes was hotter than hot in June. The main thing was that he surpassed the seemingly unstoppable Cabrera in home runs. Last night, though, he went 0 for 3 against the Marines, whiffing 3 times while drawing 2 walks.
Central League - Pitching
Iriki Satoshi (Swallows) - After the Giants cut him at the end of last season, while keeping his younger brother, Iriki tried out and made the cut for Yakult. In his new nest, Iriki then went on to win his first 8 games in a row, 4 of them in June, to get his first Monthly MVP in 12 years as a pro. But, he was cursed by the same Giants who cut him last night, giving up 3 runs in 5 innings for the loss. (It should be noted, though, that the Giants' Uehara threw a perfect game from the 2nd inning on, retiring 25 batters in a row after Petagine's 1st inning 2-run home run and a single by Furuta. Uehara deserved that win!)
Central League - Batting
Kiyohara Kazuhiro (Giants) - There is no doubt about it in my mind, Kiyohara is having one of the best years of his career. I don't know if he qualifies for the Comeback PoY, but I think he deserves it. And it the battle for first place with the Swallows going on last night, Kiyo went 2 for 5 while driving in a run. He seemed to be the only MVP this month not hit by the curse on the first day after the announcement.