Major League All-Star Team to Tour Japan

By Francisco Romero.- The San Francisco Giants are still celebrating their World Series Win, but Baseball is not over. Major League Baseball is sending an All-Star team to tour Japan from November 11^th to November 20^th in the Japan All-Star Series 2014.

The team is made up of 29 players and is headlined by Robinson Cano, Jose Altuve and Evan Longoria.  Red Sox’s skipper John Farrell will manage the team.

The 29-man roster consists of 14 pitchers, three catchers, seven infielders, 
three outfielders and two infielders/outfielders.

The pitching staff includes
(alphabetically) Jeff Beliveau (TB); Jerry Blevins (WSH); 2006 All-Star Chris Capuano
(NYY); Randy Choate (STL); Jeremy Guthrie (KC); Tommy Hunter (BAL); Tokyo
native and 2013 All-Star Hisashi Iwakuma (SEA); 2013 All-Star Mark Melancon (PIT); Franklin Morales (COL); Hector Santiago (LAA); Matt Shoemaker (LAA); Jose Veras (HOU); Aichi native Tsuyoshi Wada (CHI); and Rob Wooten (MIL).

The three catchers are Drew Butera (LAD), Erik Kratz (KC) and two-time All-Star Salvador Perez (KC), while the position players consist of 2014 AL Batting Champion and two-time All-Star Jose Altuve (HOU); six-time All-Star Robinson Cano (SEA); Chris Carter (HOU); Lucas Duda (NYM); Alcides Escobar (KC); Dexter Fowler (HOU); three-time All-Star Evan Longoria (TB); 2014 NL Batting Champion and four-time All- Star Justin Morneau (COL); Eduardo Nunez (MIN); 2014 All-Star Yasiel Puig (LAD); Carlos Santana (CLE); and two-time All-Star Ben Zobrist (TB).

All-Star Series games will be hosted in Osaka (Kyocera Dome), Tokyo (Tokyo Dome) and Sapporo (Sapporo Dome). Two exhibition games will complement the five-game series, with one game in Osaka (Koshien Stadium) and the other in Okinawa (Okinawa Cellular Stadium).

Games Schedules (Mountain Time):

• Tuesday: Exhibition vs. Hanshin Tigers/Yomiuri Giants at Koshien 2 a.m.)
• Wednesday: Game 1 at Kyocera Dome, Osaka (2 a.m.)
• Friday, Nov. 14: Game 2 at Tokyo Dome (2 a.m.)
• Saturday, Nov. 15: Game 3 at Tokyo Dome (2 a.m.)
• Sunday, Nov. 16: Game 4 at Tokyo Dome (2 a.m.)
• Tuesday, Nov. 18: Game 5 at Sapporo Dome, Sapporo (3 a.m.)
• Thursday, Nov. 20: Exhibition vs. Team Japan, Okinawa (2 a.m.)