Hokkaido Nippon Ham pitcher Masaru Takeda may not have the record of an All-Star, but that's exactly what he is.

Takeda learned on Monday that he'll participate in his first All-Star game later this month. A deserved honor for a hurler too often overlooked by many outside of Hokkaido.

Taken at face value alone, most baseball fans would probably agree a pitcher with a 6-5 record is merely having an average year.