John Gant Wins 2026 CPBL MVP After Dragons’ Championship Season

John Gant won the 2026 Chinese Professional Baseball League Most Valuable Player award on Monday after a dominant first season in Taiwan that ended with the Wei Chuan Dragons lifting the Taiwan Series trophy.

The 34-year-old right-hander led the CPBL with a 1.49 ERA and 136 strikeouts across 133 1/3 innings. He also earned the league’s Best Nine honor at pitcher and finished fifth with nine wins, giving him a rare combination of individual dominance and championship impact.

Gant turns a dominant debut into the CPBL’s top honor

Gant beat out Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions starter Brock Dykxhoorn and TSG Hawks slugger Steven Moya for the award. Dykxhoorn finished second in the league with a 1.61 ERA, while Moya led the CPBL with 126 hits, 20 home runs and 90 RBIs.

The MVP vote completed a remarkable year for Gant, who arrived in Taiwan after pitching parts of six Major League Baseball seasons with the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and Minnesota Twins. He immediately became the centerpiece of the Dragons’ rotation, winning the ERA and strikeout titles before helping Wei Chuan capture the Taiwan Series.

His postseason contribution included eight scoreless innings in Game 1 of the championship series against the CTBC Brothers. The Dragons eventually won the title in six games, making them the only full team able to attend Monday’s awards ceremony together.

Gant remained in Taiwan for the event while many foreign players returned home after the season. He arrived with a shaved head, the result of a championship promise that allowed his teammates to cut his hair during the title celebration.

Gant calls his wife “the real MVP”

The ceremony’s most memorable moment came after Gant received the award. His wife surprised him by walking onstage with flowers, and Gant used his speech to credit the person who supported him throughout his first year in Taiwan.

He thanked the Dragons for bringing him to the CPBL and said the award belonged to the teammates and coaches who helped him throughout the season. He then called his wife his No. 1 fan and “the real MVP,” drawing applause from the room.

Chung Yun-hua and Tseng Chia-hui win major awards

Uni-Lions closer Chung Yun-hua was named Rookie of the Year after leading the CPBL with 33 saves. The right-hander posted a 2.66 ERA over 50 2/3 innings and became one of the most important arms in Tainan’s bullpen.

Rakuten Monkeys starter Tseng Chia-hui won the Most Improved Player award. After making only five first-team appearances across the previous three seasons, Tseng established himself in the rotation with a 7-2 record and 2.69 ERA over 120 2/3 innings.

Together, the three awards recognized a season shaped by Gant’s dominance, Chung’s immediate late-inning impact and Tseng’s breakthrough into a full-time starting role.