Here are the most recent tallys for the starters in the all-star game. AL AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR BALLOTING UPDATE June 13, 2006 First Base 1. David Ortiz, Red Sox 915,362 2. Jason Giambi, Yankees 626,289 3. Paul Konerko, White Sox 429,572 4. Travis Hafner, Indians 364,246 5. Chris Shelton, Tigers 274,730 Second Base 1. Robinson Cano, Yankees 602,637 2. Mark Loretta, Red Sox 535,043 3. Tadahito Iguchi, White Sox 499,643 4. Placido Polanco, Tigers 268,728 5. Jose Lopez, Mariners 265,692 Third Base 1. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees 1,067,369 2. Mike Lowell, Red Sox 468,031 3. Joe Crede, White Sox 341,224 4. Troy Glaus, Blue Jays 338,899 5. Eric Chavez, Athletics 311,301 Shortstop 1. Derek Jeter, Yankees 1,121,712 2. Miguel Tejada, Orioles 776,442 3. Michael Young, Rangers 293,249 4. Alex Gonzalez, Red Sox 249,094 5. Juan Uribe, White Sox 232,635 Catcher 1. Jason Varitek, Red Sox 630,657 2. Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers 595,132 3. Jorge Posada, Yankees 489,480 4. A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox 370,020 5. Victor Martinez, Indians 324,575 Outfield 1. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels 1,115,476 2. Manny Ramirez, Red Sox 1,080,426 3. Johnny Damon, Yankees 754,396 4. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners 677,392 5. Vernon Wells, Blue Jays 554,409 6. Gary Sheffield, Yankees 466,520 7. Jermaine Dye, White Sox 407,162 8. Scott Podsednik, White Sox 384,119 9. Hideki Matsui, Yankees 362,289 10. Coco Crisp, Red Sox 354,181 11. Torii Hunter, Twins 349,262 12. Trot Nixon, Red Sox 323,813 13. Magglio Ordonez, Tigers 315,390 14. Grady Sizemore, Indians 288,314 15. Jonny Gomes, Devil Rays 225,432
NL NATIONAL LEAGUE ALL-STAR BALLOTING UPDATE June 12, 2006 First Base 1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals 1,442,273 2. Carlos Delgado, Mets 443,747 3. Ryan Howard, Phillies 352,555 4. Nomar Garciaparra, Dodgers 332,668 5. Lance Berkman, Astros 316,477 Second Base 1. Chase Utley, Phillies 732,592 2. Craig Biggio, Astros 581,079 3. Jose Castillo, Pirates 284,886 4. Marcus Giles, Braves 283,313 5. Jeff Kent, Dodgers 280,128 Third Base 1. David Wright, Mets 661,184 2. Scott Rolen, Cardinals 644,412 3. Morgan Ensberg, Astros 375,651 4. Miguel Cabrera, Marlins 352,951 5. Chipper Jones, Braves 347,546 Shortstop 1. David Eckstein, Cardinals 540,237 2. Jose Reyes, Mets 489,781 3. Edgar Renteria, Braves 483,639 4. Jimmy Rollins, Phillies 426,532 5. Omar Vizquel, Giants 293,628 Catcher 1. Paul Lo Duca, Mets 631,896 2. Mike Piazza, Padres 528,110 3. Yadier Molina, Cardinals 450,995 4. Brad Ausmus, Astros 360,412 5. Brian McCann, Braves 321,463 Outfield 1. Andruw Jones, Braves 813,990 2. Ken Griffey Jr., Reds 761,091 3. Carlos Beltran, Mets 737,830 4. Alfonso Soriano, Nationals 736,907 5. Jim Edmonds, Cardinals 574,133 6. Jason Bay, Pirates 555,764 7. Bobby Abreu, Phillies 527,356 8. Barry Bonds, Giants 408,579 9. Aaron Rowand, Phillies 401,802 10. Carlos Lee, Brewers 401,503 11. Adam Dunn, Reds 304,364 12. Pat Burrell, Phillies 261,501 13. So Taguchi, Cardinals 250,433 14. Jeff Francoeur, Braves 250,375 15. Xavier Nady, Mets 246,067
Meanwhile, in the NL, David Wright took over the third base lead from Scott Rolen, and Jose Reyes is inching up on David Eckstein at SS. :beer: (EDIT: posted) IMO, Ichiro will have Damon's OF spot by the time all is said and done, and the fact that Joe Mauer isn't even in the top 5 among catchers is a joke.
3rd base is absolutely brutal in the NL. You've got 3 guys that could arguably start at any position on the NL team(except 1B if Pujols is healthy)
http://www.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/events/all_star/y2006/ballot_reg.jsp the more direct link right the actual ballot.
I know... I mean Mauer is only the 2nd best catcher in the AL this year behind Martinez... but I guess Varitek, Posada, and Pierz-whatever are better then him. Pudge getting more votes then Mauer I can live with because Pudge has a .300 average and is still the best defensive catcher in the game. I also would like to mention how Sheffield is 6th in the voting and Nixon in 12th, both higher then Johnny Gomes who stat-wise should be starting for the AL team. Shows how retarded and fan-run the All-Star game is.
Mauer has really come on more recently and the Twins don't get a lot of media coverage so I can see it. I'm going to be honest, I voted about 3 weeks ago and cast my ballot for Victor Martinez without a second thought. Jason Varitek as the AL catcher is the outrage that nobody is talking about. He's hitting .259 (up from around .230 where he's spent most of the season) and yet it doesn't seem to bother anybody that he's an all-star. Today on Around the Horn Bill Plaschke actually claimed that Varitek should be starting over Mauer!
Works for me if other fans don't vote then that's what they get a line-up filled with Yankees and Red Sox.
The voting is all homer based and Ive been guilty in the past. A-rod and Varitek is a joke, the whole damn thing is a joke. If these people actually looked into it they would realize having the best player out there gives your league home-field advantage, therefore your team has a better shot at winning it all.
interesting fact... the 1999 2000 2001 2003 and 2004 world series mvp are either on the Yankees or Red sox. 1999 Mariano Rivera Against the Braves 2000 Derek Jeter Against the Mets 2001 Curt Schilling & Randy Johnson Against the yankees 2003 Josh Beckett Against the Yankees 2004 Manny Ramirez against the Cardinals
