Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani watches the path of his solo home run against the Seattle Mariners in the first inning of a baseball game on Oct. 3, 2021, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

       NEW YORK (Kyodo) -- The finalists for the 2021 All-MLB Team were announced Wednesday night on MLB Network, and Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani was named at two positions, designated hitter and starting pitcher.

       Ohtani, who became Major League Baseball's first two-way All-Star this summer, and relief pitcher Raisel Iglesias are the only Angels players who made the cut for the third annual All-MLB Team selection, while the Los Angeles Dodgers lead the way with 10 nominations.

       MLB introduced the All-MLB Team in 2019 to give a more comprehensive honor that covered the full breadth of a big league season, complementing the All-Star Game selections that are awarded just past the season's halfway point.

       From the list that includes 66 position-player candidates and 38 pitcher candidates, 32 will make either the first or second teams. The players are chosen in a process that is split 50-50 between a fan vote and an expert panel.

       Last year, right-hander Yu Darvish, then playing for the Chicago Cubs, became the first Japanese to make an All-MLB first team.

       Fan voting will continue through 5 p.m. on Nov. 19. The teams will be announced on Nov. 23.

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