Correa, Mullins, Pederson and O’Neill Now in Position to Advance to Phase Two;
Guerrero Jr. Remains Leading Vote-Getter; Acuña Jr. Continues to Pace NL;
Derby-Bound Two-Way Star Ohtani Leads at DH;
Phase One Voting Available Until Thursday at 4:00 p.m. (ET)
With just 76 hours remaining in the initial phase of voting, several close races have developed across the Majors, including five players who hold advantages of less than 50,000 votes, for the right to advance to Phase 2 and compete for a starting assignment at the 2021 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard.
The 2021 Google MLB All-Star Ballot, which is available exclusively online and via mobile devices at MLB.com, all 30 Club sites, the MLB App and on Google Search (U.S. and Canada only) will be accessible until the voting period for Phase 1 concludes at 4:00 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, June 24th. On Sunday, June 27th, the top three vote-getters at each position (and the top nine outfielders) in each League will be revealed at 12:00 p.m. (ET) on the 2021 Google MLB All-Star Ballot Finalists Show exclusively on MLB Network, and they will advance to the second phase of voting to determine who makes the All-Star teams and starts for each League. During the initial voting period, fans can submit up to five ballots per 24-hour period on MLB platforms, and can vote for every position, or up to 17 unique players per day on Google.
In the National League outfield, Joc Pederson of the Chicago Cubs (7th; 319,938 votes) and Tyler O’Neill of the St. Louis Cardinals (9th; 281,528) are now in position to advance to the next phase after moving up into the top nine. Five NL outfielders are within less than 40,000 votes of O’Neill for the final spot, including Cubs teammates Jason Heyward (263,707) and Ian Happ (259,052), two-time All-Star Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers (248,950), Trent Grisham of the San Diego Padres (243,401) and AJ Pollock of the Los Angeles Dodgers (242,194). Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves continues to pace all NL players with 1,599,885 votes as he looks to join his teammate Freddie Freeman (2018) as the second Braves player in three years of All-Star balloting to lead the NL. Following Acuña in the outfield in position to advance are Cincinnati Reds teammates Nick Castellanos (1,168,088) and Jesse Winker (968,339); Dodgers teammates Mookie Betts (826,951) and Chris Taylor (413,601); Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals (353,438); Pederson; six-time All-Star Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies (319,735); and O’Neill.
Up the middle of the NL infield, the Dodgers double-play tandem of second baseman Gavin Lux and two-time All-Star shortstop Corey Seager are each clinging to third place at their respective positions. Lux (386,404) is just over 32,000 votes ahead of Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner (354,255), while Seager (361,141) has a little more cushion in leading two-time All-Star Brandon Crawford of the San Francisco Giants (314,921). San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. (1,326,502) continues to outpace his position while ranking second overall in the NL, followed by two-time All-Star Javier Báez of the Cubs (533,002). Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies (632,794) remains in front at second base, followed by Adam Frazier of the Pittsburgh Pirates (437,333).
Other highlights of the NL Ballot include:
- A star-studded group of third basemen are in position to advance to Phase 2 with Chicago’s Kris Bryant (1,033,181) leading the way, followed by Nolan Arenado of the Cardinals (546,544) and Justin Turner of the Dodgers (455,980), with Turner aiming to hold off Atlanta’s Austin Riley (342,604) and San Diego’s Manny Machado (334,717).
- Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy (815,081), bidding for his second consecutive All-Star selection and first fan election, continues to outdraw reigning NL MVP and four-time All-Star Freddie Freeman (638,616), as well as three-time All-Star Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs (495,654).
- Rounding out the NL leaders is six-time All-Star catcher Buster Posey of the Giants (1,079,454), who remains ahead of nine-time All-Star Yadier Molina of the Cardinals (568,232) and two-time All-Star Willson Contreras of the Cubs (455,873). Aiming for his first All-Star appearance, Dodgers backstop Will Smith (383,120) is still within striking distance
- The Braves and Reds remain the only NL teams with two players leading at their position, while the Dodgers are joined by the Cubs with a NL-best six players in position to advance to Phase 2.
In the American League, Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros (388,758) has overtaken third place at shortstop from Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox (347,842) in a battle to advance to the next phase alongside two-time All-Star and 2016 fan-elected starter Xander Bogaerts of the Boston Red Sox (1,006,408) and Bo Bichette of the Toronto Blue Jays (598,838). Correa, who won a fan election in 2017, is bidding to join Hall of Famer Craig Biggio (4), teammate Jose Altuve (4), and former teammate George Springer (2) as the only Astros with multiple fan elections. Anderson is attempting to become the first White Sox shortstop to win a fan-elected start since Luis Aparicio in 1970. A fan election by Anderson or Bichette would mark the eighth consecutive different shortstop to win, dating back to 2013.
In the tightest race to advance to Phase 2 across the Majors, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, who has an AL-leading 86 hits on the season, has joined the top nine in the AL outfield with 366,555 votes to take an advantage of less than 8,000 votes over Randy Arozarena of the Tampa Bay Rays (358,742) as each player bids for his first All-Star appearance. Eight-time All-Star Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels (1,371,004) remains the leading vote-getter in the AL outfield, and is joined in the top nine by two-time All-Star Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees (1,030,139); Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins (710,270); rookie Adolis García of the Texas Rangers (604,196); Teoscar Hernández of the Blue Jays (505,664); four-time All-Star Michael Brantley of the Astros (442,672); Randal Grichuk of the Blue Jays (431,134); Alex Verdugo of the Red Sox (421,554) and Mullins.
Other highlights of the AL Ballot include:
- First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays remains the leading vote-getter across Major League Baseball with 1,745,105 total votes received. The 22-year-old, who would join José Bautista (2011, 2014) and Josh Donaldson (2015) as Blue Jays to finish atop the Majors in fan voting, is joined among the leaders at his position by Yuli Gurriel of the Astros (340,623) and reigning AL MVP José Abreu of the White Sox (301,354), with Jared Walsh of the Angels (229,245) trailing in fourth.
- Kansas City’s Salvador Perez moved into second place in the AL and third place in the Majors with 1,391,586 total votes. Perez, who won three consecutive fan elections from 2015-17, would join Hall of Famers Iván Rodríguez (11) and Carlton Fisk (7), as well as Joe Mauer (4) as the only AL backstops with four fan elections. He is followed by Yasmani Grandal of the White Sox (323,764); Houston’s Martín Maldonado (312,196), and Boston’s Christian Vázquez (210,153).
- Two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who is tied for the Major League lead with 23 home runs on the season while going 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 73 strikeouts on the mound, ranks first among designated hitters with 1,174,069. Ohtani, who on Friday announced his participation in the 2021 T-Mobile Home Run Derby, is attempting to become the first Angels player not named Mike Trout to win a fan election since Vladimir Guerrero in 2007. He is followed by J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox (530,660), Yordan Álvarez of the Astros (356,189) and rookie Yermín Mercedes of the White Sox (225,843).
- Also among the AL leaders are second baseman Marcus Semien of the Blue Jays (1,184,346), who is one of 12 players across the Majors to surpass the one million votes total thus far, and third baseman Rafael Devers of the Red Sox (939,174). Semien is followed by six-time All-Star Jose Altuve of the Astros (715,791), three-time All-Star DJ LeMahieu of the Yankees (302,380) and Nick Madrigal of the White Sox (244,919). Devers leads a group including two-time All-Star Alex Bregman of the Astros (457,296), Yoán Moncada of the White Sox (400,905) and two-time All-Star José Ramírez of the Indians (305,984).
- The Astros have a Major League-high seven players in position to advance to Phase 2, while the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Angels all pace the AL with two players leading at their position.
Overall, 12 different Major League Clubs continue to be represented among the 17 positional leaders, which include eight potential first-time All-Stars. Additionally, 20 of the 30 Major League Clubs are represented among the players on pace to advance to Phase 2 of 2021 Google MLB All-Star Balloting.
Phase 2 will begin at 12:00 p.m. (ET) on Monday, June 28th, with fans voting among the finalists at each position during a four-day window that concludes at 2:00 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, July 1st. Later that night, the winners will be announced at 9:00 p.m. (ET) on the 2021 Google MLB All-Star Starters Reveal on ESPN. During this second phase of voting, in which fans can vote once on MLB platforms and submit up to 17 unique player votes on Google, vote totals will reset (i.e., vote totals from Phase 1 do not carry over) and the winner at each position (including three outfielders per League) will be named a starting position player for the 2021 Midsummer Classic.
The NL All-Star Team, which will be managed for a third consecutive time by Dave Roberts of the defending World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, will have eight elected starters via the fan balloting program, while the AL All-Star Team, led by Kevin Cash of the defending AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays, will have nine fan-elected starters. The pitchers and reserves for both squads – totaling 24 for the NL and 23 for the AL – will be determined through a combination of “Player Ballot” choices and selections made by the Commissioner’s Office. The balance of the All-Star rosters will be announced at 5:30 p.m. (ET) on July 4th during the 2021 Google MLB All-Star Selection Show on ESPN.
During each phase of voting, the 2021 Google MLB All-Star Ballot will be available when fans search in English and Spanish. The ballot at MLB.com and Club sites also will offer audio CAPTCHA functionality for visually impaired fans. Banco BHD León will once again sponsor online All-Star balloting in the Dominican Republic, making Spanish-language ballots available to fans in the D.R. via LasMayores.com, the official Spanish-language web site of Major League Baseball.
Fans will once again have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. During the Midsummer Classic, fans can vote exclusively at MLB.com and the 30 Club sites – online or via their mobile devices – with the 2021 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote, and their collective voice will represent 20 percent of the official vote determining this year’s recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy.
MLB All-Star Week includes the MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard (July 13th), Gatorade All-Star Workout Day featuring the T-Mobile Home Run Derby (July 12th), All-Star Sunday featuring the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and All-Star Celebrity Softball Game (July 11th), the MLB Draft (July 11th-13th) and PLAY BALL PARK at the Colorado Convention Center (July 9th-13th), plus a lineup of additional events taking place around the city. The 91st Midsummer Classic will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by 70 partners in 15 languages across 223 countries and territories. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week, including ticket information and updates, please visit www.allstargame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.
