The All-Star Game Final Vote for the past couple of seasons has been absolutely crazy on social media. It's blown up into a popular event where a lot of fans participate.. One of the fan bases that reigned supreme last year was the Atlanta Braves with the help of the Toronto Blue Jays.
This year things are a little different. The Braves are in the Final Vote yet again but now it's Justin Upton who needs to be voted in by the fans. Another thing that is different is who the Braves decided to team up with. This year they're teaming up with the Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem and their devoted fanbase with the Angels Final Vote participant being pitching stud Garrett Richards.
The official hashtags for voting are #VoteJUp and for Garrett Richards it's #VoteGRich. You can follow both hashtags over the next few days to join in on the fun.
Justin Upton got to participate in the Final Vote because of the type of year he's had so far. He's hitting .275 on the year with 17 HR and 50 RBI. The 17 HR he's hit this year could make him deserving of a Home Run Derby win because all of them have been monster shots. Some were the furthest of the year. Just yesterday he hit a monster opposite field homer that would look big in any ball park.
Garrett Richards is an excellent young pitcher who has been suprisingly good but everyone in the Angels organization knew he had this type of ability in him. He's started in 17 games, pitching to a 9-2 record with an ERA of 2.81 which has to be near the top of the AL leaderboard. Richards has provided just the spark the Angels have needed in the rotation with Jarrod Weaver getting a little older it's almost time for him to pass the torch to Richards.
Both Justin Upton and Garrett Richards are deserving of an all-star selection, the only thing stopping them is the vote from the fans. If Braves Country comes out like they did last year with Freddie Freeman, it's going to be an easy win for both Upton and Richards.