LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani celebrated his selection to Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game with his 28th home run of the season on Thursday.

Japan’s Ohtani led all National League players at the end of the first phase of fan voting for the All-Star Game, which will take place on 15 July at Truist Park in Atlanta.

Ohtani received 3,967,668 votes and will start at designated hitter, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, having already quashed any suggestion that the two-way star might pitch in the annual mid-season exhibition.

Ohtani, a three-time Most Valuable Player, garnered his fifth straight All-Star nod.

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge clinched the first American League All-Star spot and with 4,012,983 votes became the first player to repeat as the overall leading vote-getter since Alex Rodriguez in 2007-08.

Judge was selected for his seventh AL start in eight All-Star Games, although he missed the 2023 edition with a sprained toe.

Since 2022, the top vote-getters in each league claim the first two All-Star starting spots.

Two finalists at every other position advanced to the second phase and the remaining position starters will be announced on 2 July. Pitchers and reserves will be named on 6 July.

Ohtani has returned to the pitching mound this season for the first time since undergoing elbow ligament surgery in 2023, but he has continued to be a formidable force at the plate.

He has been the top designated hitter in the National League and his 28 homers — the latest coming in a 3-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies — lead the NL.

Judge has 28 homers and an MLB-best batting average of .361.