Ohtani to bat first as designated hitter in MLB All-Star Game
This year's game will take place at the Atlanta Braves' Truist Park on Tuesday.
The rosters were announced at a news conference on Monday attended by the American and National league managers.
Ohtani, who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was selected to play in the game for the National league through fan voting.
He will face off against the American League's starting pitcher, Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers.
Skubal won last year's Cy Young Award for best pitcher and has 10 wins so far this season with a 2.23 earned run average, the second best in his league.
Ohtani was asked by reporters about fans expecting him to hit a home run at the All-Star Game for a second straight year. He said he would be happy to hit a homer but that he will focus on hitting in his own way.
Asked about what he thought of the American League starting pitcher, Ohtani said Skubal is a pitcher he would rather not go up against since he excels at every kind of pitch, including the fastball. He said he will try not to be overwhelmed by the pitcher's force.
Japanese pitchers Yamamoto Yoshinobu of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kikuchi Yusei of the Los Angeles Angels have also been selected for the All-Star Game.
But their regular season pitching schedules may prevent them from taking part.
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