Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles hurler Takahiro Norimoto was among eight players added Thursday to the Central and Pacific League All-Star teams following votes from NPB players.
"I'm really pleased to have been selected by fellow players," said Norimoto, who led the PL with strikeouts for the past three years and this month set a new mark of getting 10 or more strikeouts in eight straight games.
"I can't put out (the CL batters) with just fastballs, so I'll have to use all my pitches."
Norimoto, who received the most votes among PL pitchers in the players' balloting, joins 23 players named to the PL team in the fan ballot.
Shortstop Eigoro Mogi was also picked from PL-leading Rakuten, while first baseman Seiichi Uchikawa and designated hitter Alfredo Despaigne were chosen from the second-place Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters outfielder Kensuke Kondo was another name on the added list after batting .407 through early June, but had to withdraw as he had surgery Wednesday after being diagnosed with a herniated lumber disk.
Three players from the Yomiuri Giants were added to the CL roster — catcher Seiji Kobayashi, veteran first baseman Shinnosuke Abe and third baseman Casey McGehee.
CL manager Koichi Ogata of the Hiroshima Carp and PL's Hideki Kuriyama of Nippon Ham will make nominations on July 3 to fill the final 28-man roster for each league.
This summer's games will be played at Nagoya Dome on July 14 and at Chiba's Zozo Marine Stadium the following evening.
