Joc Pederson Albert Pujols (2001). Pederson was selected to the National League squad in the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the first Dodgers rookie to be selected as an All Star since Hideo Nomo in 1995, and he was later chosen to start in left field after Matt Holliday withdrew from the game due to an injury. He became the first Dodgers rookie position player to ever start in an All-Star game. He was also selected to participate in the Home Run Derby. Pederson was the #4 seed, hit the longest homer of the evening at 489 feet, became the first
Sports in Asia 1949, and reorganized into the Nippon Professional Baseball in 1950. Teams have been historically identified with their corporate owners, not where the team is based, and have often relocated to other cities. Over 50 Japanese-born players have played in Major League Baseball, including Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui, Koji Uehara and Hideo Nomo. The Japan national baseball team has won the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classic. High school baseball is also popular in Japan. In South Korea, baseball was introduced in the 1900s and the KBO League was established in 1982. The Taiwan-based Chinese Professional Baseball League was established in