REYES, NOT PELFREY, JOINS WRIGHTALL STAR GAME STAFF ANNOUNCED
On a day of celebration and fireworks far and wide, Major League Baseball fans can now gaze upon a sight that truly inspires oohs and ahhs. Meet your 2010 rosters for the 81st All-Star Game on July 13 in Anaheim. Twins catcher Joe Mauer, the leading vote-getter overall, and Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, who claimed the top spot in the National League, are among the starters selected by you during the largest All-Star balloting program in sports. Fans cast 21.2 million ballots, the second-highest figure in history to decide nine American League and eight NL starters. Balloting closed on Thursday night exclusively online, and it closed with a rush. Overall during the past three years of online All-Star balloting for the elected starters, fans have cast more than 650 million votes at MLB.com and the 30 individual club sites, including this year's 220 million votes. The full list of rosters will be accompanied by the announcement of 10 players, five from each league, in the 2010 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint. Mauer, now a four-time AL All-Star and a three-time fan-elected starter, collected 5,372,606 votes, the third-highest total of all time, trailing only the 6,079,688 cast for Ken Griffey, Jr. in 1994 and the 5,397,374 for Pujols for last year's Midsummer Classic before his home crowd in St. Louis. Mauer is the first catcher to be MLB's overall top vote-getter since Ivan Rodriguez of the Rangers was first in 2000, and the Minnesota native joins Hall of Famer Rod Carew (1975, 1977-78) as the only other Twins player to lead all of MLB in votes. In addition, Mauer drew a record number of online votes for the All-Star Game MLB.com Ballot Sponsored by Sprint. Pujols, who garnered 4,380,669 votes, finished atop all NL players for the fourth time, as he led all of MLB in 2006 and 2009 and also ranked first in the NL in 2003. Mauer will not be the only member of the Twins to start the event, as his teammate, first baseman Justin Morneau, held off veteran All-Stars Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers and Mark Teixeira of the Yankees in that fabulous finish down the stretch. It will mark the fourth All-Star berth and the first starting assignment for Morneau, who drew 2,933,355 votes. The pair of Twins represents one of four sets of AL teammates who will start at Angel Stadium. The Yankees' double-play tandem will remain intact in Anaheim, as teammates Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano join Mauer and Pujols as the only Major League players to top 4 million votes. Jeter has earned his 11th trip to the All-Star Game, including his sixth fan-elected start, with 4,547,485 votes, while Cano (4,135,305) will make his second All-Star appearance and his first start. Rounding out the AL infield is Rays third baseman Evan Longoria, whose 3,977,935 votes made him an All-Star for the third time in all three of his Major League seasons, including back-to-back elections by fans. Longoria joins an elite club as a repeat starter at the hot corner for the AL. Since 1970, the only other AL third basemen who repeated as the choice of fans are Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson (1971-74), George Brett (1976-86), Wade Boggs (1987-1996) and Cal Ripken, Jr. (1997-2001), along with Alex Rodriguez (2004-08). For the third consecutive year, the AL outfield will feature Josh Hamilton of the Rangers and Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners. Hamilton's torrid play in June (.454, 49-108, 9 HR, 31 RBIs, .815 slugging percentage) launched him to the top spot among AL outfielders with 2,840,816 votes. Ichiro will be a part of the Midsummer Classic for the 10th time -- accounting for his entire career in Major League Baseball -- and he is now a fan-elected starter for the ninth time with 2,544,564 votes. Who snagged that competitive No. 3 outfield spot? It was Rays left fielder Carl Crawford (2,235,597), last year's Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet. He held on against Nelson Cruz (2,011,770) of the Rangers to earn his first start in the Midsummer Classic and his fourth All-Star appearance overall. Rangers slugger Vladimir Guerrero, who has collected his ninth All-Star berth and his sixth fan-elected start with 3,926,103 votes, will return to Angel Stadium, his home ballpark from 2004-2009, as the AL's designated hitter. This will be Guerrero's fifth time representing the AL in the Midsummer Classic. The NL lineup will feature a pair of Cardinals for the second consecutive year, as Pujols will be joined by his teammate, catcher Yadier Molina, whose 2,251,285 votes held off veteran All-Stars Brian McCann of the Braves and Rodriguez of the Nationals. And what about the Phillies, who had five players on the leaderboard when the first voting update was released in May? In the end, there is one starter. Chase Utley (3,616,038) earned his fifth straight election by fans, a run eclipsed at the position only by Hall of Famers Joe Morgan (1972-78) and Ryne Sandberg (1986-1993) since 1970. And because Utley is on the disabled list after hand surgery, it means no starters for the defending NL champs. Utley will be replaced in the starting lineup by the top second baseman on the Player Ballot: Martin Prado of the NL East-leading Braves. With 2,573,961 votes, Hanley Ramirez of the Marlins will be the starting shortstop for the third straight year, the longest uninterrupted streak at that position in the NL since Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith's streak from 1983-1992. Ramirez outdueled NL East rivals Jimmy Rollins (1,788,778) of the Phillies and Jose Reyes of the Mets (1,554,069) for the starting nod. One of the most hotly contested NL races had been at third base, but David Wright of the Mets surged down the stretch to unseat Philadelphia's Placido Polanco, who had led at the position throughout the entire balloting process. In every single voting update after Polanco was first announced as the leader, Wright outtrended him, and if it seemed inevitable that Wright was going to overtake him at the wire, it appeared inevitable once Polanco also went on the DL recently. Wright drew 2,285,959 votes, ahead of the 1,792,413 for Polanco. This will mark Wright's fifth All-Star selection overall and his fourth start (2006-07, 2009). "That's what it's all about," Wright said of the fan balloting and campaigning. "There's no greater feeling of a kid wearing your jersey, seeing a fan wearing your jersey, to know that you have fans out there and people who genuinely care about trying to get you to the All-Star Game and do good things for you. That's great. I'm beyond appreciative. You want to try to go out there and put on a good show for the fans and to know that they have your back, and know that you have people out there who are trying to do nice things for you." Southern California native Ryan Braun of the Brewers led all Major League outfielders in All-Star balloting for the third straight year by collecting 2,972,525 votes. Braun now has the most fan elections in Brewers history, ahead of the two apiece for Hall of Famers Paul Molitor and Robin Yount. Joining Braun in the NL outfield will be Dodgers slugger Andre Ethier, who will make his All-Star Game debut after garnering 2,784,419 votes. Ethier becomes the first Dodgers outfielder to be elected to start the All-Star Game since Darryl Strawberry in 1991. The third starting position in the NL outfield has been earned by 20-year-old Braves rookie Jason Heyward, who drew 2,728,098 votes. If it is determined later that Heyward, who is currently on the DL, cannot play in the All-Star Game, then he will be replaced in the starting lineup by the top ranking outfielder from the Player Ballot who is not already a starter, and NL All-Star manager Charlie Manuel from the Phillies will name a replacement to be added to the roster. In his final year on the ballot, Griffey, MLB's all-time leader in All-Star balloting, earned 1,070,862 votes. Griffey, who retired from baseball on June 2nd, entered the season with 48,973,314 votes, giving him a total of 50,044,176 in his 22-year Major League career. Griffey also holds the single-season record (6,079,688 votes in 1994). The pitchers and reserves for both squads -- totaling 25 for the NL and 24 for the AL -- were determined through a combination of Player Ballot choices and selections made by All-Star managers Joe Girardi and Manuel, in conjunction with MLB. Might as well get this out of the way first: Nationals rookie sensation Stephen Strasburg is not on the NL roster, just to address a popular topic of debate over recent days. AL Player Ballot pitchers include starting pitchers David Price of the Rays, Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester of the Red Sox, Phil Hughes of the Yankees and Cliff Lee of the Mariners; along with relievers Neftali Feliz of the Rangers, Mariano Rivera of the Yankees and Jose Valverde of the Tigers. AL Player Ballot position players include Cabrera; second baseman Dustin Pedroia, catcher Victor Martinez, third baseman Adrian Beltre and DH David Ortiz of the Red Sox; shortstop Elvis Andrus of the Rangers; outfielders Vernon Wells and Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays and outfielder Torii Hunter of the Angels. Pedroia and Martinez receive full honors as elected All-Stars, but because they are both injured and unavailable, they are replaced on the roster by second baseman Ian Kinsler of the Rangers and catcher John Buck of the Blue Jays, respectively. Both of them finished second on the Player Ballot at their respective positions. Girardi, in conjunction with MLB, filled out the AL roster with the following: second baseman Ty Wigginton of the Orioles and third baseman Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees, along with pitchers Matt Thornton of the White Sox, Fausto Carmona of the Indians, Joakim Soria of the Royals, Trevor Cahill of the Athletics and CC Sabathia of the Yankees. NL Player Ballot position players include Prado and catcher Brian McCann of the Braves; first baseman Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres, shortstops Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies; third baseman Scott Rolen of the Reds; and outfielders Corey Hart of the Brewers, Matt Holliday of the Cardinals and Marlon Byrd of the Cubs. Because Tulowitzki is on the DL and unavailable, he is replaced by Reyes, who was the next choice on the Player Ballot behind him. NL Player Ballot pitchers include starting pitchers Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies, Roy Halladay of the Phillies, Josh Johnson of the Marlins, Tim Lincecum of the Giants and Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals; along with relievers Matt Capps of the Nationals, Brian Wilson of the Giants and Jonathan Broxton of the Dodgers. From there, Manuel, in conjunction with MLB, filled out his roster with the following: first baseman Ryan Howard of the Phillies, second baseman Brandon Phillips of the Reds (replacing Utley on the roster), infielder/outfielder Omar Infante of the Braves, outfielders Michael Bourn of the Astros and Chris Young of the D-backs; and pitchers Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals, Yovani Gallardo of the Brewers, Tim Hudson of the Braves, Evan Meek of the Pirates and Arthur Rhodes of the Reds. That leaves a 34th roster spot in each league, and this is where you come in again. Last year, you chose Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino and Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge. For this 2010 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint, you have 10 candidates who are all focused on postseason contention beyond the Midsummer Classic. AL nominees are first baseman Paul Konerko of the White Sox, right fielder Nick Swisher of the Yankees, first baseman Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox, left fielder Delmon Young of the Twins and third baseman Michael Young of the Rangers. NL nominees are closer Heath Bell of the Padres, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies, first baseman Joey Votto of the Reds, closer Billy Wagner of the Braves and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals. Submit as many ballots as you want. Voting will continue through 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, and the winners will be announced exclusively at MLB.com shortly thereafter. The final phase of All-Star Game voting at MLB.com will have fans again participating in the official voting for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet via the 2010 All-Star Game MVP Vote Sponsored by Sprint. The 81st Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and Le Reseau de Sport, and around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8 p.m. ET. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage. MLB Network, MLB.com and Sirius XM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Game coverage. (MLB.com)
On a day of celebration and fireworks far and wide, Major League Baseball fans can now gaze upon a sight that truly inspires oohs and ahhs. Meet your 2010 rosters for the 81st All-Star Game on July 13 in Anaheim. Twins catcher Joe Mauer, the leading vote-getter overall, and Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, who claimed the top spot in the National League, are among the starters selected by you during the largest All-Star balloting program in sports. Fans cast 21.2 million ballots, the second-highest figure in history to decide nine American League and eight NL starters. Balloting closed on Thursday night exclusively online, and it closed with a rush. Overall during the past three years of online All-Star balloting for the elected starters, fans have cast more than 650 million votes at MLB.com and the 30 individual club sites, including this year's 220 million votes. The full list of rosters will be accompanied by the announcement of 10 players, five from each league, in the 2010 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint. Mauer, now a four-time AL All-Star and a three-time fan-elected starter, collected 5,372,606 votes, the third-highest total of all time, trailing only the 6,079,688 cast for Ken Griffey, Jr. in 1994 and the 5,397,374 for Pujols for last year's Midsummer Classic before his home crowd in St. Louis. Mauer is the first catcher to be MLB's overall top vote-getter since Ivan Rodriguez of the Rangers was first in 2000, and the Minnesota native joins Hall of Famer Rod Carew (1975, 1977-78) as the only other Twins player to lead all of MLB in votes. In addition, Mauer drew a record number of online votes for the All-Star Game MLB.com Ballot Sponsored by Sprint. Pujols, who garnered 4,380,669 votes, finished atop all NL players for the fourth time, as he led all of MLB in 2006 and 2009 and also ranked first in the NL in 2003. Mauer will not be the only member of the Twins to start the event, as his teammate, first baseman Justin Morneau, held off veteran All-Stars Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers and Mark Teixeira of the Yankees in that fabulous finish down the stretch. It will mark the fourth All-Star berth and the first starting assignment for Morneau, who drew 2,933,355 votes. The pair of Twins represents one of four sets of AL teammates who will start at Angel Stadium. The Yankees' double-play tandem will remain intact in Anaheim, as teammates Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano join Mauer and Pujols as the only Major League players to top 4 million votes. Jeter has earned his 11th trip to the All-Star Game, including his sixth fan-elected start, with 4,547,485 votes, while Cano (4,135,305) will make his second All-Star appearance and his first start. Rounding out the AL infield is Rays third baseman Evan Longoria, whose 3,977,935 votes made him an All-Star for the third time in all three of his Major League seasons, including back-to-back elections by fans. Longoria joins an elite club as a repeat starter at the hot corner for the AL. Since 1970, the only other AL third basemen who repeated as the choice of fans are Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson (1971-74), George Brett (1976-86), Wade Boggs (1987-1996) and Cal Ripken, Jr. (1997-2001), along with Alex Rodriguez (2004-08). For the third consecutive year, the AL outfield will feature Josh Hamilton of the Rangers and Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners. Hamilton's torrid play in June (.454, 49-108, 9 HR, 31 RBIs, .815 slugging percentage) launched him to the top spot among AL outfielders with 2,840,816 votes. Ichiro will be a part of the Midsummer Classic for the 10th time -- accounting for his entire career in Major League Baseball -- and he is now a fan-elected starter for the ninth time with 2,544,564 votes. Who snagged that competitive No. 3 outfield spot? It was Rays left fielder Carl Crawford (2,235,597), last year's Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet. He held on against Nelson Cruz (2,011,770) of the Rangers to earn his first start in the Midsummer Classic and his fourth All-Star appearance overall. Rangers slugger Vladimir Guerrero, who has collected his ninth All-Star berth and his sixth fan-elected start with 3,926,103 votes, will return to Angel Stadium, his home ballpark from 2004-2009, as the AL's designated hitter. This will be Guerrero's fifth time representing the AL in the Midsummer Classic. The NL lineup will feature a pair of Cardinals for the second consecutive year, as Pujols will be joined by his teammate, catcher Yadier Molina, whose 2,251,285 votes held off veteran All-Stars Brian McCann of the Braves and Rodriguez of the Nationals. And what about the Phillies, who had five players on the leaderboard when the first voting update was released in May? In the end, there is one starter. Chase Utley (3,616,038) earned his fifth straight election by fans, a run eclipsed at the position only by Hall of Famers Joe Morgan (1972-78) and Ryne Sandberg (1986-1993) since 1970. And because Utley is on the disabled list after hand surgery, it means no starters for the defending NL champs. Utley will be replaced in the starting lineup by the top second baseman on the Player Ballot: Martin Prado of the NL East-leading Braves. With 2,573,961 votes, Hanley Ramirez of the Marlins will be the starting shortstop for the third straight year, the longest uninterrupted streak at that position in the NL since Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith's streak from 1983-1992. Ramirez outdueled NL East rivals Jimmy Rollins (1,788,778) of the Phillies and Jose Reyes of the Mets (1,554,069) for the starting nod. One of the most hotly contested NL races had been at third base, but David Wright of the Mets surged down the stretch to unseat Philadelphia's Placido Polanco, who had led at the position throughout the entire balloting process. In every single voting update after Polanco was first announced as the leader, Wright outtrended him, and if it seemed inevitable that Wright was going to overtake him at the wire, it appeared inevitable once Polanco also went on the DL recently. Wright drew 2,285,959 votes, ahead of the 1,792,413 for Polanco. This will mark Wright's fifth All-Star selection overall and his fourth start (2006-07, 2009). "That's what it's all about," Wright said of the fan balloting and campaigning. "There's no greater feeling of a kid wearing your jersey, seeing a fan wearing your jersey, to know that you have fans out there and people who genuinely care about trying to get you to the All-Star Game and do good things for you. That's great. I'm beyond appreciative. You want to try to go out there and put on a good show for the fans and to know that they have your back, and know that you have people out there who are trying to do nice things for you." Southern California native Ryan Braun of the Brewers led all Major League outfielders in All-Star balloting for the third straight year by collecting 2,972,525 votes. Braun now has the most fan elections in Brewers history, ahead of the two apiece for Hall of Famers Paul Molitor and Robin Yount. Joining Braun in the NL outfield will be Dodgers slugger Andre Ethier, who will make his All-Star Game debut after garnering 2,784,419 votes. Ethier becomes the first Dodgers outfielder to be elected to start the All-Star Game since Darryl Strawberry in 1991. The third starting position in the NL outfield has been earned by 20-year-old Braves rookie Jason Heyward, who drew 2,728,098 votes. If it is determined later that Heyward, who is currently on the DL, cannot play in the All-Star Game, then he will be replaced in the starting lineup by the top ranking outfielder from the Player Ballot who is not already a starter, and NL All-Star manager Charlie Manuel from the Phillies will name a replacement to be added to the roster. In his final year on the ballot, Griffey, MLB's all-time leader in All-Star balloting, earned 1,070,862 votes. Griffey, who retired from baseball on June 2nd, entered the season with 48,973,314 votes, giving him a total of 50,044,176 in his 22-year Major League career. Griffey also holds the single-season record (6,079,688 votes in 1994). The pitchers and reserves for both squads -- totaling 25 for the NL and 24 for the AL -- were determined through a combination of Player Ballot choices and selections made by All-Star managers Joe Girardi and Manuel, in conjunction with MLB. Might as well get this out of the way first: Nationals rookie sensation Stephen Strasburg is not on the NL roster, just to address a popular topic of debate over recent days. AL Player Ballot pitchers include starting pitchers David Price of the Rays, Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester of the Red Sox, Phil Hughes of the Yankees and Cliff Lee of the Mariners; along with relievers Neftali Feliz of the Rangers, Mariano Rivera of the Yankees and Jose Valverde of the Tigers. AL Player Ballot position players include Cabrera; second baseman Dustin Pedroia, catcher Victor Martinez, third baseman Adrian Beltre and DH David Ortiz of the Red Sox; shortstop Elvis Andrus of the Rangers; outfielders Vernon Wells and Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays and outfielder Torii Hunter of the Angels. Pedroia and Martinez receive full honors as elected All-Stars, but because they are both injured and unavailable, they are replaced on the roster by second baseman Ian Kinsler of the Rangers and catcher John Buck of the Blue Jays, respectively. Both of them finished second on the Player Ballot at their respective positions. Girardi, in conjunction with MLB, filled out the AL roster with the following: second baseman Ty Wigginton of the Orioles and third baseman Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees, along with pitchers Matt Thornton of the White Sox, Fausto Carmona of the Indians, Joakim Soria of the Royals, Trevor Cahill of the Athletics and CC Sabathia of the Yankees. NL Player Ballot position players include Prado and catcher Brian McCann of the Braves; first baseman Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres, shortstops Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies; third baseman Scott Rolen of the Reds; and outfielders Corey Hart of the Brewers, Matt Holliday of the Cardinals and Marlon Byrd of the Cubs. Because Tulowitzki is on the DL and unavailable, he is replaced by Reyes, who was the next choice on the Player Ballot behind him. NL Player Ballot pitchers include starting pitchers Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies, Roy Halladay of the Phillies, Josh Johnson of the Marlins, Tim Lincecum of the Giants and Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals; along with relievers Matt Capps of the Nationals, Brian Wilson of the Giants and Jonathan Broxton of the Dodgers. From there, Manuel, in conjunction with MLB, filled out his roster with the following: first baseman Ryan Howard of the Phillies, second baseman Brandon Phillips of the Reds (replacing Utley on the roster), infielder/outfielder Omar Infante of the Braves, outfielders Michael Bourn of the Astros and Chris Young of the D-backs; and pitchers Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals, Yovani Gallardo of the Brewers, Tim Hudson of the Braves, Evan Meek of the Pirates and Arthur Rhodes of the Reds. That leaves a 34th roster spot in each league, and this is where you come in again. Last year, you chose Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino and Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge. For this 2010 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint, you have 10 candidates who are all focused on postseason contention beyond the Midsummer Classic. AL nominees are first baseman Paul Konerko of the White Sox, right fielder Nick Swisher of the Yankees, first baseman Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox, left fielder Delmon Young of the Twins and third baseman Michael Young of the Rangers. NL nominees are closer Heath Bell of the Padres, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies, first baseman Joey Votto of the Reds, closer Billy Wagner of the Braves and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals. Submit as many ballots as you want. Voting will continue through 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, and the winners will be announced exclusively at MLB.com shortly thereafter. The final phase of All-Star Game voting at MLB.com will have fans again participating in the official voting for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet via the 2010 All-Star Game MVP Vote Sponsored by Sprint. The 81st Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and Le Reseau de Sport, and around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8 p.m. ET. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage. MLB Network, MLB.com and Sirius XM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Game coverage. (MLB.com)
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