Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma and Yokohama BayStars infielder Seiichi Uchikawa were among the managers' picks as the complete rosters were announced Monday for the upcoming All-Star series in Japanese baseball.
Pacific League manager Masataka Nashida of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and his counterpart Tatsunori Hara of the Yomiuri Giants added their picks, bringing the total number of players on each roster to 28 for the July 31 and Aug. 1 games at Kyocera Dome and Yokohama Stadium.
Iwakuma, who leads Japanese baseball with 12 wins, makes his third appearance in the midsummer classic.
"I am excited to be playing together with great players in Japanese baseball," Iwakuma said. "I want to give it my all and really make the series exciting."
The CL-leading Hanshin Tigers have the most players appearing with six along with the PL front-running Saitama Seibu Lions and the Chunichi Dragons while the Yokohama BayStars and Chiba Lotte Marines have the fewest with just three players for the series.