米国のプロチームリーグMajor League Pickleball（MLP）が、2026年レギュラーシーズンの締めくくりに年間表彰の投票を実施した。対象は「アムウェイMVP（Amway Most Valuable Player）」と「最優秀改善選手（Most Improved Player）」の2部門で、勝者を決めるのはリーグでも記者でもなく、フォームから一票を投じたファンだ。締切は7月31日午後5時（米東部時間）。Forbesのコラムニスト、トッド・ボスが自分の票を実名で公開したことで、誰がMVPにふさわしいかという議論がシーズン終盤の話題になった。プロリーグが年間表彰をどう組み立てるかは、Sansanが国内初のプロリーグを立ち上げたばかりの日本のプレーヤーや運営者にとっても、他人事ではない。
MLP left the close of its 2026 season to fan votes, not reporters
The vote was limited to two individual awards, MVP and Most Improved Player. Fans picked one player in each category through an online form, and whoever drew the most votes won. In MLP's own announcement of its regular-season awards, the two categories were presented as honoring the player who changed the season and the newcomer who grew.
注目したいのは、この年間MVPがMLPにとって比較的新しい仕組みだという点だ。リーグは2024年より前、シーズンを通した公式のMVP表彰を持っていなかった。チーム順位やプレーオフの勝敗はあっても、1年を振り返って個人を選ぶ賞は用意されていなかった。2026年の投票は、ここ数年の歴史のなかで試行されている表彰の延長線上にある。
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Categories | Amway MVP / Most Improved Player (one each) |
| How it is decided | Online vote by fans |
| Voting deadline | July 31, 5 p.m. Eastern |
| History of the MVP award | No official season MVP before 2024 |
Annual awards sit outside the standings and give a story to players who did not win
In a team league, the championship trophy goes to only one team. Individual awards can shine a light on players from teams that fell short. With a Most Improved Player category, a player outside the top of the table can take the lead role on a different axis: most improved since last year. In Todd Boss' column, the MVP candidates and the improved-player candidates were discussed as separate groups.
この設計は、シーズンを1本の順位表に還元しない効果を持つ。圧倒的な活躍をした選手をMVP候補に押し上げる一方、これまで無名に近かった新鋭を改善選手として拾い上げる。勝ち負けだけでは埋もれる選手の1年が、賞という形で言葉になる。MLPが60代のシニア戦までプロの興行に組み込んできた流れは、MLP turning seniors into a pro product, and the awards rest on the same idea of creating more moments worth watching.
Naming it the Amway MVP already turns the award into merchandise
It is worth noting that the top individual prize carries a sponsor's name. MVP was presented not as plain MVP but as the Amway MVP. The name of the award itself becomes sponsorship inventory, turning the spot that draws attention every year at season's end into a product a sponsor can buy.
How Amway came in as MLP's title sponsor was covered inwhy Amway bought MLP's naming rights, and naming rights on an award are an extension of that. For the league, annual awards not only honor players but also hold exposure that sponsors find valuable. Creating a prize is itself part of designing revenue.
Opening the vote to fans turns memories of a season into engagement
Deciding winners by a vote of reporters was available as a route, but MLP chose a fan vote. That choice puts ease of taking part ahead of the award's correctness. To vote, fans recall a year of matches and decide in their own words who was best. Before the deadline, appeals for favorite players and comparisons with other candidates fly around social media.
Fan voting has weaknesses, of course. Well-known players collect votes beyond what their numbers justify, and the complaint that it is a popularity contest comes around every year. The league still opens the vote because, in exchange for strictness, it creates a stretch of time in which fans take the season back up as their own concern. An award is a chance to bring a finished season back into conversation.
If Japan's PX LEAGUE adds awards, design them apart from industry prizes
Bringing this view to Japan, PX LEAGUE, the first domestic pro league, launched by Sansan, comes into focus. Companies take part as team owners and the top teams play off after the season, andhow Sansan's PX LEAGUE changed the way people get involvedgoes into building enthusiasm at the team level. Add annual individual awards and there is one more route for following individual players' stories.
Japan already has comprehensive awards run by industry bodies. But those lean toward honoring the whole industry, taking in facilities, brands and contributors, andone company handing out industry awardsaims at something different from MLP's player awards. What MLP's vote picks is strictly the player who did the most that season and the player who improved the most. It is tied to one year of the league, decided by fans, with a sponsor on the name. If a Japanese pro league creates awards, the question is how to design individual prizes tied to the season and the players, separate from prizes that survey the whole industry. Awards are not decoration the organizer provides; they can be a device that pulls fans and players back into the season one more time.
