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[NPB NOTEBOOK] Hanshin Tigers Dominate Fan Voting for 2023 All-Star Games

The Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers had 10 out of 11 places in fan voting for the upcoming NPB All-Star Games, which will be held on July 19 and 20.

Published

12 months ago

June 30, 2023

Jim Armstrong

Hanshin Tigers outfielder Koji Chikamoto participates in batting practice on June 21 at Koshien Stadium. (ⒸSANKEI)

Read the full story on SportsLook - [NPB NOTEBOOK] Hanshin Tigers Dominate Fan Voting for 2023 All-Star Games

The Hanshin Tigers have dominated fan voting for the upcoming NPB All-Star Games in a way that few teams have in recent years.

A total of 10 players from the Tigers were voted onto the Central League All-Star team in fan balloting, NPB announced on Wednesday, June 28.

More players will be added to both the CL and Pacific League All-Star teams through voting by players.

This year's All-Star Games will be played at Nagoya Dome on July 19 and Hiroshima's Mazda Stadium the following day.

The only non-Tiger player voted onto the CL team was outfielder Shogo Akiyama of the Hiroshima Carp.

Hanshin center fielder and leadoff man Koji Chikamoto received an NPB-high 769,587 votes.

Chikamoto is in the midst of a strong season but doesn't lead the CL in any major offensive category other than stolen bases (12). He has a .286 batting average with 78 hits and 34 RBIs (through Wednesday, June 28).

Other Hanshin players voted to the team were rookie pitcher Shoki Murakami, outfielder Sheldon Neuse, infielder Yusuke Oyama, pitcher Suguru Iwazaki, catcher Ryutaro Umeno and pitcher Atsuki Yuasa.

Also named were infielders Takuma Nakano, Teruaki Sato and Seiya Kinami.

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Author: Jim Armstrong

The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.