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 A contingent of 29 players from MLB arrived in Japan on Sunday
along with Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell for the series, which
starts at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka on Wednesday.
The All Stars warmed up for the series with an entertaining 8-7 win
over a combined Yomiuri Giants/Hanshin Tigers team in an exhibition
in front of more than 25,000 fans on Tuesday.
Shoemaker, who was runner-up to the Chicago White Sox's Jose Abreu
in the AL Rookie vote, said Samurai Japan would provide tough
opposition.
"Baseball, that's their sport, so they're going to be ready to go,"
MLB's official website quoted Shoemaker as saying.
 "The fans are going to make it a lot of fun. The place is going to
be packed. It will be like playoff baseball, just without a World
Series at the end of it.
"We're just getting some pride for MLB."
The MLB All Stars last visited Japan in 2006 when they swept the
series 5-0 and with a squad boasting the likes of Yasiel Puig,
Robinson Cano and Evan Longoria, as well as a powerful bullpen,
Japan will have their work cut out to avoid a repeat.
Farrell, who is leading the MLB All Stars in Japan, said Tuesday's
narrow win was the perfect way to prepare for the series, which
moves to Tokyo for three games before winding up at the Sapporo Dome
on Nov. 18.
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"We were able to get every position player on the field, we were
able to go to the bullpen with a number of guys to get to the
mound," he said.
"They put a lot of pressure on us, forced us to make some pitches
and make some plays. So for us, the first game here in Japan was
probably everything we could've asked for from a competitive
standpoint."
Hiroshima Carp starter Kenta Maeda will take the mound against
Shoemaker in the first game.
(Reporting by Peter Rutherford; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
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