It was a powerhouse performance that ripped up the record book.

Jake Hiromoto, third baseman with the Swift Current 57’s, had a season for the ages in the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL).

When it was all said and done, the product of Honolulu, Hawaii set impressive new single-season records for home runs (22) and runs batted in (77).

In recognition of the outstanding campaign, Hiromoto has earned a pair of major WCBL awards in the form of Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Rookie of the Year (ROY) honours.

“Looking back on the summer, it's still kind of like I'm on cloud nine. I feel like it's just unbelievable that I was able to accomplish what I accomplished and I just had such a great support staff and I felt so welcomed,” said Hiromoto.

“Everybody welcomed me with open arms and my billets were amazing, and I think that goes into play for how well I was able to compete on the field. When you feel comfortable and they make you feel at home that goes a long way, and it's just like the mental part of the game that people don't see behind the scenes.”

The long ball record topped the previous mark of 20 homers, which was set by Brooks Bombers catcher Riley MacDonald in 2018, while the RBI total blew past the 66 that were recorded by Kaleb Warden of the Lethbridge Bulls in 2019, and later tied by William Edwards of the Moose Jaw Miller Express in 2025.

“When I broke the record, I was always saying that any big achievement, any big award is really, really cool, but I really want those team awards. I really wanted to win a championship. I really wanted to have more wins,” said Hiromoto, who is a sophomore studying finance at the University of San Francisco.

“I also just wouldn't be here without any of my teammates. For me to get the RBI record they still had to get on base so that I could drive them in and they had to do their part for me to have success, so I give a lot of credit to them too.”

Hiromoto described setting the home run record as an unforgettable experience and “one of the coolest moments in my baseball career.”

In addition to the record-smashing feats, the Mitchell Field masher also displayed a well-rounded toolbox at the plate. He led the league in OPS (1.227) and hits (89), while batting .394 with 65 runs, 17 doubles and 11 stolen bases in 56 games played.

“When I came my freshman year to San Francisco, I probably had only a handful of at bats. And I was coming into the summer just wanting to have fun and get a lot of ABs and just compete and play baseball like how I did growing up and I've checked all those boxes,” said Hiromoto, who admitted to tinkering with his batting stance throughout the WCBL season.

“Baseball is just a game of failure and a game of just changing and adapting and sometimes your body is going to change, you're going to get more tired, you're going to make changes that you don't even mean to make just because you have to compensate for your body being tired. You are playing so many games in a week, you're traveling and I think that that's the cool part. You go out there and you compete and if you have a bad day, you're back out there the next day, and my coaches believed in me and they helped me through it all, so that was really amazing to see.”

Hiromoto was a landslide winner of both the WCBL MVP and ROY awards, which were voted on by league coaches and select members of the media. He received 17 first place votes on 22 ballots in each category.

For the MVP honours, he came out ahead of Saskatoon Berries outfielder Ethan Murdoch and Moose Jaw Miller Express shortstop Thomas Soto, whose own record-breaking campaign established new highs in stolen bases (49) and runs scored (75).

The Rookie of the Year voting placed Hiromoto ahead of Okotoks Dawgs outfielder Cal Gates and Saskatoon Berries infielder Gael Salinas.

Previous regular season MVP winners include Ethan Menard (Saskatoon Berries), Cooper Ciesielski (Sylvan Lake Gulls), Jonah Weisner (Sylvan Lake Gulls) and Ricardo Sanchez (Okotoks Dawgs).

Recent ROY winners include Zane Skansi (Okotoks Dawgs), Carter Beck (Saskatoon Berries), Eric Rataczak (Brooks Bombers), Diego Aragon (Regina Red Sox) and Tristan Peters (Okotoks Dawgs).

“There’s just mutual respect through the whole league, and I really appreciate that, and I think that this summer was super competitive and anybody in the East (Division) could beat anybody on any given day and that's what was super cool about it. But I mean, I really appreciate that and I'm very thankful to have these awards,” said Hiromoto, adding he would love to return to Swift Current in 2027.

“I love it there … there's no doubt, they know I love it there and I love my billets, and there were tears when I had to leave and that's how much it meant to me. If I if I was to go back to the WCBL, I would definitely go back to Swift. I wouldn't change it. I wouldn't trade that for nothing.”