Liván Moinelo’s career in Japanese Professional Baseball League (NPB, for its acronym in English) took another step towards legendary status this Tuesday, by being chosen as the best starting pitcher in the Pacific League during the recently concluded campaign.
The 155 votes collected by the Cuban left-hander were far from the 61 that benefited the local right-hander Hiromi Ito, of the Nippon Ham Fighters and winner of the Sawamura award, according to a report from the website Japanese Baseball.
This is the Pacific League Ideal Team in 2025. Liván Moinelo is the pitcher and Franmil Reyes is the designated hitter. https://t.co/w4sv9DFncT
— Japanese Baseball.com (@beisboljapones) November 25, 2025
At 29 years old, and with nine seasons on the Japanese circuit, Moinelo continued to have extraordinary performances, and for this reason he has been worthy of such an important designation for the first time.
During the 2025 season, the left-hander from Pinar del Río participated in 24 games for his team and set a mark of 12 wins and only three failures. In addition, he closed his forays with an ERA of 1.46 earned runs per game, the best in the entire circuit, according to the official statistics of the circuit.
Only two Latin players appear in the ideal teams announced by NPB, and both are members of Pacific League teams. In addition to Moinelo, the Dominican Franmil Reyes (Luchadores) was chosen in the designated hitter position, with an overwhelming majority of votes (228-1) over the American Tyler Nevin.
dream season
Although since his arrival in Japan 10 years ago he has had relevant results, the recent campaign ranks as one of the most momentous for Moinelo, who has become a starter from 2024.
With the signature of a record millionaire contract For the circuit, the return driver assumed responsibility and has not disappointed the franchise management, leading it to the first title in the last five seasons.
The highest point was when he propelled the Falcons towards the Japan Series, scoring the success of the decisive match against the Luchadores for the division title, and with the pulse tied and just four days of rest.
That performance, plus the victory he achieved in the opening duel of the series with absolute dominance, earned him the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the series for the Pacific League title.
He had left some clues about his magnificent closing of the course in June, when he was chosen as the best pitcher of that month in his league, a distinction he had received twice before since arriving in Japan.
The first time happened in June 2024, an experience he repeated in August of that same year, to become the second foreign pitcher with the most awards, with one less than the Taiwanese Kuo Tai-yuan (Seibu Lions).
Since assuming leadership of the Falcons’ starting staff in 2024, Moinelo has a 23-5 record, confirming his role change as one of the most successful moves by the Fukuoka franchise management.
Liván Moinelo was the best Latino in professional baseball in Japan
That year he was chosen as the Latino of the Year, an award established in 2010 to recognize the player from that geographical area with the best performance in the campaign, taking as a reference the performance during the regular calendar and the postseason.
He then won the distinction for the second time since arriving in Japan, having previously achieved it in the 2020 campaign, when he also won the award as best middle reliever in the Pacific League.
