Bloomberg Mauer, Pujols Top Voting for MLB All-Star Game

July 4 (Bloomberg) -- Catcher Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins and first baseman Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals topped fan voting for Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game.

Mauer, the American League’s reigning Most Valuable Player, will make his fourth appearance in the midseason exhibition. Pujols will play for the ninth time for the National League.

With the final player on each team to be decided by a public vote that ends July 8, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees each have six representatives in the AL lineup, while the NL team features five players from the Atlanta Braves and the same number from the St. Louis Cardinals.

At stake is home-field advantage in this year’s World Series. Since 2003, the team from the winning league has earned the right to host as many as four games in the best- of-seven championship matchup. The AL last year extended its unbeaten All-Star Game streak to 13 years with a 4-3 victory at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

The 81st All-Star Game will be held July 13 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.

Fans cast 21.2 million votes to decide the nine AL and eight NL starters, while 220 million ballots were registered overall, MLB said on its website today.

Mauer got 5.37 million votes, the third-most ever after the 6.08 million cast for Ken Griffey Jr. in 1994 and the 5.4 million received by Pujols last year.

Mauer is the second Twins player after Hall of Famer Rod Carew in 1975 to lead the voting, and the first catcher to top the poll since Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers 10 years ago.

Pujols Leads NL

The 30-year-old Pujols got the most votes among NL players for the fourth time, with a tally of 4.38 million. Pujols is hitting .306 with 60 runs batted in and an NL- best 20 home runs in 80 games this season.

Mauer is joined in the AL starting lineup by Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, while the NL starters also include Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.

The other AL starters as voted for by fans are: second baseman Robinson Cano (Yankees); shortstop Derek Jeter (Yankees); third baseman Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay Rays); outfielders Josh Hamilton (Texas Rangers), Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle Mariners) and Carl Crawford (Rays), and designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero (Rangers).

The other NL starters are: second baseman Chase Utley, (Philadelphia Phillies); shortstop Hanley Ramirez (Florida Marlins); third baseman David Wright (New York Mets), and outfielders Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers), Andre Ethier (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Jason Heyward (Atlanta Braves).

Utley Misses Game

Utley won’t be able to make a fifth appearance in the All-Star Game after undergoing thumb surgery July 1. He’ll be replaced by Martin Prado, second baseman for the Atlanta Braves. NL manager Charlie Manuel of the Phillies will select the team’s designated hitter.

There was no place for Washington Nationals rookie Steven Strasburg among the 13 NL pitchers, eight of whom were chosen by players and five by Manuel, who’s managing the team for the second straight year.

Strasburg struck out a record 41 batters in his first four major league games. The 21-year-old is 2-2 with a 2.45 earned run average and has 53 strikeouts in six games.

“He got quite a bit of consideration,” Manuel told TBS, which broadcast the team announcements today. “Leave him alone, let him pitch and he’s going to be an All-Star for a long time. I just felt like there’s other guys who have started anywhere from 18 to 20 games.”

Jimenez and Halladay

Ubaldo Jimenez and Roy Halladay are rewarded for pitching no-hitters with places on the NL roster, though Edwin Jackson failed to secure a spot after throwing the fourth no-hitter of the season, for the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 25.

“There are players who were deserving of going and they were not selected,” AL manager Joe Girardi of the Yankees told TBS in an interview. “That’s the hardest part for me.”

Jimenez pitched the first no-hitter of the season on April 17 as the Colorado Rockies beat the Braves 4-0. After Dallas Braden of the Oakland A’s threw a perfect game in a 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on May 9, Halladay matched the feat in a 1-0 win for the Phillies against the Florida Marlins 20 days later. There was no room for Braden among the AL’s 13 pitchers.

The last player on each team will be determined via an online vote by fans at MLB.com.

Contenders for Spot

Each league has five contenders for the remaining place on their rosters. In the AL, fans can choose from Paul Konerko (Chicago White Sox), Nick Swisher (Yankees), Kevin Youkilis (Red Sox), Delmon Young (Twins) and Michael Young (Rangers).

In the NL, the contenders are Heath Bell (San Diego Padres), Carlos Gonzalez (Rockies), Joey Votto (Cincinnati Reds), Billy Wagner (Braves) and Ryan Zimmerman (Nationals).

2010-07-05

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