Hanshin Leads 2026 NPB Golden Gloves With Five Winners; Orix Takes Three
Hanshin leads the 2026 NPB Golden Glove Awards with five winners, Orix has three, and Ryosuke Tatsumi wins his sixth straight. Full list of all 18 winners.
World Baseball News Editorial Team , 2 min read 
Hanshin Tigers led the 2026 NPB Mitsui Golden Glove Awards with five winners, while the Orix Buffaloes claimed a Pacific League-high three, as Japan’s best defensive players were announced on November 11. The 55th edition honored nine players in each league, including five first-time winners across Nippon Professional Baseball.
Hanshin’s five selections came after the club defended its Central League pennant. Third baseman Teruaki Sato added a second consecutive Gold Glove to a remarkable season in which he won the batting Triple Crown, hitting .306 with 39 home runs and 106 RBIs. His fellow Tigers honorees were catcher Seishiro Sakamoto, first baseman Yusuke Oyama, second baseman Takumu Nakano and outfielder Shota Morishita.
That is two fewer winners than Hanshin’s Central League-record seven in 2025, but still comfortably the largest contingent of any club this year. Sato became the first Hanshin third baseman to win consecutive Golden Gloves since Masayuki Kakefu’s run from 1981 through 1983.
Orix leads Pacific League as Tatsumi extends streak
Orix placed catcher Kenya Wakatsuki, third baseman Yuma Mune and shortstop Kotaro Kurebayashi on the Pacific League team. Wakatsuki and Kurebayashi repeated, while Mune returned to the winners’ list for the first time in three years.
Rakuten Eagles center fielder Ryosuke Tatsumi extended his streak to six consecutive Golden Gloves, the longest active run among this year’s recipients. SoftBank’s Ukyo Shuto earned his third straight outfield award. Seibu pitcher Kaima Taira, Chiba Lotte second baseman Ryusei Ogawa and Marines outfielder Kyota Fujiwara were among the new winners. Ogawa edged SoftBank’s Taisei Makihara by just four votes in one of the closest races.
All 2026 NPB Golden Glove Award winners
Central League
- Pitcher: Katsuki Azuma — Yokohama DeNA BayStars
- Catcher: Seishiro Sakamoto — Hanshin Tigers
- First base: Yusuke Oyama — Hanshin Tigers
- Second base: Takumu Nakano — Hanshin Tigers
- Third base: Teruaki Sato — Hanshin Tigers
- Shortstop: Yuta Izuguchi — Yomiuri Giants
- Outfield: Shota Morishita — Hanshin Tigers
- Outfield: Ryuki Watarai — Yokohama DeNA BayStars
- Outfield: Go Matsumoto — Yomiuri Giants
Pacific League
- Pitcher: Kaima Taira — Saitama Seibu Lions
- Catcher: Kenya Wakatsuki — Orix Buffaloes
- First base: Tyler Nevin — Saitama Seibu Lions
- Second base: Ryusei Ogawa — Chiba Lotte Marines
- Third base: Yuma Mune — Orix Buffaloes
- Shortstop: Kotaro Kurebayashi — Orix Buffaloes
- Outfield: Ukyo Shuto — Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
- Outfield: Ryosuke Tatsumi — Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
- Outfield: Kyota Fujiwara — Chiba Lotte Marines
The Mitsui Golden Glove Awards are chosen by ballots from experienced baseball journalists. The honor recognizes fielding by position rather than offensive performance, making Sato’s combination of a Triple Crown and another defensive award particularly notable.
