Latest MLB All-Star Fan Vote Results Reveal Close Races

The latest round of voting for Major League Baseball’s 85th All-Star game on July 15 in Minneapolis has been released and several position races in both leagues are close.

The tightest race is in the National League at third base between David Wright (1,051,640) of the New York Mets and Pablo Sandoval (1,051,640) of the San Francisco Giants. A mere 78,419 votes separates the two. Wright is seeking his eighth All-Star appearance while Sandoval is looking for his third All-Star appearance.

The closest race in the American League is at shortstop between 13 time All-Star Derek Jeter (1,810,451)of the New York Yankees and Alexei Ramirez (1,568,620) of the Chicago White Sox who is seeking his first Midsummer Classic appearance. Jeter is hoping to appear in the All-Star game one last time before retirement at the end of the season.

Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista is the leading vote getter in the majors with 2,906,878 votes. The National League’s leading vote getter continues to be Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki with 2,593,387.

Joining the two million vote club along with Bautista and Tulowitzki are Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (2,544,658), Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera (2,030,773), and St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (2,003,557).

The largest vote spread is at shortstop in the National League where three-time All-Star Tulowitzki has a 1,693,746 lead over Brandon Crawford (899,641) of the San Francisco Giants who is seeking his first All-Star appearance. Tulowitzki has led Crawford since the first vote totals were released. The Rockies shortstop is currently leading the majors in batting at .355, is second in the National League in home runs at 18, and third in the league in RBI’s with 45.

Oakland A’s third baseman Josh Donaldson (1,953,423) appears headed to his first All-Star game as he leads three-time All-Star Adrian Beltre (953,318) of the Texas Rangers by 1,000,105 votes. Donaldson is currently batting .249 with 17 homers and 51 RBI’s.

The San Francisco Giants, who have the best record in baseball, don't have a single player leading in the vote totals at their position. They have three players coming in second at their position; Buster Posey at catcher, Sandoval at third base, and Crawford at shortstop.

Other interesting races are Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano (1,513,052) leading Ian Kinsler (1,117,345) of the Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (1,291,052) battling Adrian Gonzalez (1,049,222) of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The American League’s top vote-getter at catcher is Matt Wieters (1,488,884) of the Baltimore Orioles who currently leads Brian McCann (1,075,210) of the Yankees. Just one problem, Wieters hasn’t played a game since May 10 and is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery. The A’s Derek Norris sits in third place and trails McCann by 2,383 votes.

Pitchers and reserve players will be selected by American League manager John Farrell of the Boston Red Sox and National League Manager Mike Matheny of the St. Louis Cardinals following the conclusion of the voting for starters.

Fan voting is currently underway at all 30 Major League ballparks and at mlb.com. Fan voting ends on July 3 and final results will be announced the weekend of July 5-6. The game is set for July 15, 2014 at 8 PM EDT in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The game will be played at Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins.

*Out For Season