Ends 2006 Location(s) Japan Most recent 2014 | Frequency Biennial Inaugurated 1986 | |
Country United States
Canada
Japan | ||
The MLB Japan All-Star Series is a biennial end-of-the-season tour of Japan made by an All-Star team from Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1986, contested in a best-of format against the All-Stars from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) or recently as of 2014 their national team Samurai Japan (SJP).
The series featured many great players, such as Nori Aoki, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Hideki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki, Shinnosuke Abe, David Ortiz, Sammy Sosa, Justin Morneau, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Jose Altuve, Robinson Cano and Manny Ramírez.
In the beginning of all games the American, Canadian and Japanese national anthems are all played.
MLB v SJP (2014)
The Japan All-Star Series continued again after an eight-year break. Katsuhiko Kumazaki, the then-new Commissioner of NPB, appointed their national team Samurai Japan, instead of a NPB All-Star line-up, for the 2014 series. The MLB All-Star team is equal to a World Cup All-Star team, and Kumazaki saw in this championship a big opportunity for the Japanese team to gain hugely useful experience for the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
Samurai Japan won the series by 3–2 games. A combined no-hitter shut out the MLB All-Stars 4–0 in Game 3.