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Major League Baseball Makes Shohei Ohtani All-Star Announcement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sterling Bennett | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 8:06 PM ET

Shohei Ohtani continues to rack up accolades. On Thursday, Major League Baseball announced the first two starters for the 2025 All-Star Game, including New York Yankees’ outfielder Aaron Judge and the Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter.

Both Ohtani and Judge led their respective leagues in Phase 1 of fan voting, resulting in an automatic starting assignment in the mid-summer classic at Atlanta’s Truist Park. Ohtani led the entire National League with 3,967,668 votes and finished to Judge altogether, becoming the first designated hitter to start in five straight All-Star Games.

Ohtani, coming off back-to-back MVP awards and the first 50-50 season in MLB history, leads the NL with 28 home runs, 80 runs, a .633 slugging percentage, and a 1.025 OPS.

When asked about Ohtani representing the Dodgers at the All-Star Game, manager Dave Roberts could not help but feel excited for the fans.

"The fans love him. He’s the best player," Roberts said earlier this week. "It’s going to be exciting for the fans to watch him in Atlanta for the All-Star Game."

Despite Ohtani’s return to the mound this season, the reigning MVP is not likely to assume the role during the All-Star game. Instead, he will highlight an NL roster stacked with his Dodgers teammates if the current voting holds.

Possibly accompanying Ohtani is catcher Will Smith, first baseman Freddie Freeman, second baseman Tommy Edman, third baseman Max Muncy, shortstop Mookie Betts, and outfielders Teoscar Hernandez and Andy Pages – as each player is among leading vote-getters at their positions.

With the All-Star nod, Ohtani ties Pirates’ outfielder Andrew McCutchen and Rangers’ shortstop Corey Seager for the 12th most All-Star appearances by an active player.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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