At the nominal halfway point of the Japanese baseball season, COVID-19 — not Munetaka Murakami or any other star who will be on display during this week’s All-Star Series — is taking center stage.
The seventh wave of infections in Japan is taking a toll on the NPB ranks, sidelining various players and staff members — not even Hokkaido Nippon Ham’s Big Boss, Tsuyoshi Shinjo, was immune — and decimating the Yomiuri Giants.
Even with the shadow of positive tests hanging over the league, there will be an All-Star Series, provided NPB can cobble together enough players to compete. Nine withdrew due to the virus on Friday.