The Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star festivities were held at the Kyocera Dome (Osaka) and Yokohama Stadium this year. Shugo Maki won the Home Run Derby while the Pacific League kept up their recent dominance, sweeping the Central League with 5-1 and 10-7 wins.
In other news, Shintaro Fujinami and Koyo Aoyagi are returning to Japan after being released by their respective MLB organizations. Both ex-Hanshin Tigers pitchers have found new homes, as Fujinami signed with the DeNA BayStars, and Aoyagi joins the Yakult Swallows.
NPB Dashboard Now Available
Check out the new NPB Dashboard on my website, featuring a 2025 overview page with each team’s primary lineup, rotation, and bullpen, plus player percentile pages for deeper insights into individual performance relative to league-average. These stats are updated daily. More advanced data and modules will be added soon!
Home Run Derby
DeNA BayStars slugger Shugo Maki thrilled the hometown fans at Yokohama Stadium by winning the Home Run Derby. He launched 18 homers in total over three rounds (two minutes each with unlimited swings and no breaks), narrowly edging out Kotaro Kiyomiya, 7-6, in the final. Along the way, he also defeated Seiji Uebayashi and Chusei Mannami. Maki, who is third in the CL with 15 dingers this season, had made it his goal to finally win the derby after participating in it several times before.
Game 1: Pacific League 5, Central League 1
On Wednesday at Kyocera Dome, Hiroya Miyagi (Buffaloes) opened with two crafty shutout innings for the PL, mixing in many sub-60 mph curveballs to amuse the home crowd. Closer Raidel Martinez (Giants) took on an unconventional role as the opener for the CL, tossing a scoreless frame.
Yuma Tongu (Buffaloes) broke the game open with a three-run homer off Takahiro Matsuba (Dragons) in the third, earning MVP honors. Other highlights included southpaw Livan Moinelo (Hawks) touching 77 mph while throwing right-handed, Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) stealing two bases off his former teammate Takuya Kai (Giants), and Kenya Wakatsuki (Buffaloes) adding a solo blast to seal the win for the PL.
Game 2: Pacific League 10, Central League 7
On Thursday at Yokohama Stadium, the PL exploded early against Shoki Murakami (Tigers), building a 6-0 lead by the second inning. Tatsuya Imai and Chihiro Sumida (Lions) combined to pitch three innings, allowing just one run. Kotaro Kiyomiya (Fighters) homered and finished a triple shy of the cycle to take home the MVP.
Down 9-1 in the fifth, the CL slowly clawed back into the game thanks to homers by Naoki Yoshikawa (Giants), Teruaki Sato (Tigers), and Koji Chikamoto (Tigers). They even got the tying run into scoring position in the eighth with Sato coming up, but Kota Tatsu (Fighters) struck him out. Yuma Tongu (Buffaloes) hit a pinch-hit bomb in the ninth inning, his second of the series, giving the PL an insurance run in a 10-7 victory.
Full All-Star Rosters
Central League
Manager and Coaches
Shinnosuke Abe (Yomiuri Giants)
Kyuji Fujikawa (Hanshin Tigers)
Daisuke Miura (DeNA BayStars)
Pitchers
Takahiro Matsuba (Chunichi Dragons)
Shinya Matsuyama (Chunichi Dragons)*
Tatsuya Shimizu (Chunichi Dragons)
Kento Fujishima (Chunichi Dragons)**
Andre Jackson (DeNA BayStars)
Hiromu Ise (DeNA BayStars)**
Taisei Irie (DeNA BayStars)*
Masaki Oyokawa (Hanshin Tigers)
Shoki Murakami (Hanshin Tigers)
Daichi Ishii (Hanshin Tigers)
Daisuke Moriura (Hiroshima Carp)
Sotaro Shimauchi (Hiroshima Carp)
Taichi Ishiyama (Yakult Swallows)*
Hiroki Ohnishi (Yakult Swallows)**
Foster Griffin (Yomiuri Giants)
Raidel Martinez (Yomiuri Giants)
Taisei (Yomiuri Giants)
Iori Yamasaki (Yomiuri Giants)
Catchers
Seishiro Sakamoto (Hanshin Tigers)
Shogo Sakakura (Hiroshima Carp)
Takuya Kai (Yomiuri Giants)
Infielders
Tyler Austin (DeNA BayStars)*
Shugo Maki (DeNA BayStars)
Yusuke Ohyama (Hanshin Tigers)
Takumu Nakano (Hanshin Tigers)
Teruaki Sato (Hanshin Tigers)
Masaya Yano (Hiroshima Carp)
Naoki Yoshikawa (Yomiuri Giants)
Yuta Izuguchi (Yomiuri Giants)
Outfielders
Yuki Okabayashi (Chunichi Dragons)
Seiji Uebayashi (Chunichi Dragons)
Keita Sano (DeNA BayStars)**
Shota Morishita (Hanshin Tigers)
Koji Chikamoto (Hanshin Tigers)
Sandro Fabian (Hiroshima Carp)
Pacific League
Manager and Coaches
Hiroki Kokubo (SoftBank Hawks)
Tsuyoshi Shinjo (Nippon-Ham Fighters)
Masato Yoshii (Lotte Marines)
Pitchers
Shunsuke Nakamori (Lotte Marines)
Seigi Tanaka (Nippon-Ham Fighters)
Kota Tatsu (Nippon-Ham Fighters)
Koki Kitayama (Nippon-Ham Fighters)
Hiroya Miyagi (Orix Buffaloes)
Allen Kuri (Orix Buffaloes)
Naoto Nishiguchi (Rakuten Eagles)
Hiroshi Kaino (Seibu Lions)
Tatsuya Imai (Seibu Lions)
Chihiro Sumida (Seibu Lions)
Kaima Taira (Seibu Lions)
Livan Moinelo (SoftBank Hawks)
Kazuki Sugiyama (SoftBank Hawks)
Catchers
Ryusei Terachi (Lotte Marines)
Kenya Wakatsuki (Orix Buffaloes)
Infielders
Kotaro Kiyomiya (Nippon-Ham Fighters)
Yuma Tongu (Orix Buffaloes)
Ryo Ota (Orix Buffaloes)
Kotaro Kurebayashi (Orix Buffaloes)*
Rui Muneyama (Rakuten Eagles)
Itsuki Murabayashi (Rakuten Eagles)
Natsuo Takizawa (Seibu Lions)
Hotaka Yamakawa (SoftBank Hawks)
Isami Nomura (SoftBank Hawks)**
Outfielders
Kyota Fujiwara (Lotte Marines)**
Daito Yamamoto (Lotte Marines)
Chusei Mannami (Nippon-Ham Fighters)
Ryoma Nishikawa (Orix Buffaloes)*
Manaya Nishikawa (Seibu Lions)
Seiya Watanabe (Seibu Lions)
Ukyo Shuto (SoftBank Hawks)
Tatsuru Yanagimachi (SoftBank Hawks)
Designated Hitter
Franmil Reyes (Nippon-Ham Fighters)
* = Injured
** = Injury Replacement
