Angels outfielder Mike Trout leads American Leaguers in first balloting update for 85th All-Star Game

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim two-time All-Star Mike Trout, who has finished second in American League Most Valuable Player voting in each of the last two seasons, leads all A.L. players in the first balloting figures for the 85th All-Star Game, to be played on Tuesday, July 15th at Target Field in Minnesota, it was announced today. The first National League balloting results will be announced tomorrow.

Trout, who last year, at 21 years old, became the youngest A.L. position player to start the Midsummer Classic since Ivan Rodriguez in 1993, leads A.L. balloting with 764,007 total votes. The 2012 A.L. Rookie of the Year, who was also the seventh-youngest American League position player in All-Star in history in 2012, is aiming to join Rod Carew (1979-84), Fred Lynn (1982-83), Reggie Jackson (1982-84) and Vladimir Guerrero (2004-07) as the only players in Angels history to earn consecutive fan-elected All-Star starts. Trout is followed in the A.L. by Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista, a four-time A.L. All-Star and a three-time fan-elected starter, and New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, a 13-time A.L. All-Star and an eight-time fan-elected starter.

Trout, who has 11 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs and 34 RBI, is followed in the outfield by Bautista, who has received 675,290 votes, and Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who has totaled 417,452 votes in his first year in pinstripes. Bautista, a fan-elected starter in the Midsummer Classic in each of the last three years, is seeking to become the second player in Blue Jays history to receive four fan-elected starting nods, joining Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, who earned four consecutive fan elections at second base from 1991-94. The 2011 MLB leading vote-getter has reached base safely in all but two of his games played this year and is tied for fifth in the A.L. with 12 home runs. Ellsbury, who is hitting .258 with 12 doubles, 18 RBI and 12 stolen bases, is pursuing his second career All-Star nod (2011) and first fan-elected start. The outfield leaders are followed by Ellsbury's Yankees teammate and eight-time All-Star Carlos Beltran (401,101).

Jeter, in his final Major League season, has accumulated 602,525 votes at shortstop as he looks to become the seventh A.L. player in history to earn at least nine fan-elected starts with one team. The others include Hall of Famers Cal Ripken, Jr. (17 with Baltimore), George Brett (11 with Kansas City) and Rod Carew (nine with Minnesota); Ken Griffey, Jr. (10 with Seattle); Ichiro Suzuki (nine with Seattle); and Ivan Rodriguez (nine with Texas). On Saturday, Jeter played in his 2,584th career game at shortstop, passing Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio for second place on baseball's all-time list, trailing only Omar Vizquel (2,709). Jeter, who has never played another fielding position in his career, now holds the all-time MLB record for most appearances at any single fielding position without having played another position. Chicago White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez, bidding for his first career All-Star selection, follows Jeter at shortstop in All-Star balloting with 472,537 votes.

Joining Jeter on the left side of the infield is Oakland Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson, who is seeking his first career All-Star nod. Donaldson, who finished fourth in A.L. Most Valuable Player voting in 2013, would become the first A's third baseman to earn a fan-elected start, and the first Oakland player overall to receive a fan-election since first baseman Jason Giambi in 2000. The 28-year-old, who is hitting .276 with 12 home runs, 38 RBI and 42 runs scored, is tied for first in the A.L. in runs and tied for fifth in home runs. Donaldson, who has totaled 464,367 votes, is followed closely at the hot corner by three-time All-Star and two-time fan-elected starter (2009, 2010) Evan Longoria (407,724) of the Tampa Bay Rays.

In the A.L.'s tightest race, Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler (356,244), holds a slight lead over five-time All-Star and four-time fan-elected starter (2010-13) Robinson Cano (350,293) of the Seattle Mariners and four-time All-Star and two-time fan-elected starter (2008-09) Dustin Pedroia (343,321) of the Boston Red Sox. Kinsler, in his first season with Detroit, is seeking his fourth career All-Star selection and first starting assignment. He would join Lou Whitaker (1984-86) and Placido Polanco (2007) as the only Tigers second baseman to receive a fan-elected starting nod. Kinsler, who ranks third in the A.L. with a .330 batting average, is tied for second in the league with 21 multi-hit games.

Joining Kinsler on the right side of the infield is his Tigers teammate Miguel Cabrera (440,407). The duo is attempting to become the ninth pair of teammates to earn starting All-Star assignments on the right side of the infield, and the first since Boston's Kevin Youkilis and Pedroia in 2008. Cabrera, an eight-time All-Star, is attempting to make his second consecutive fan-elected start after earning the starting nod at third base in 2013. The reigning two-time A.L. MVP (also 2012) would join former teammate Prince Fielder as the only fan-elected starting first basemen in Tigers history. In addition, the 2012 Triple Crown winner would become just the fifth player in Tigers history to earn multiple fan-elected starting assignments at the Midsummer Classic, joining catchers Bill Freehan (1970, 1972), Lance Parrish (1984-86), Ivan Rodriguez (2004, 2006-07) and second baseman Lou Whitaker (1984-86). Cabrera, who ranks fifth in the A.L. with a .322 batting average, is followed at first base by nine-time All-Star and four-time fan-elected starter Albert Pujols (371,193) of the Angels and Chicago White Sox rookie Jose Abreu (367,617).

Nine-time All-Star David Ortiz of the Red Sox has tallied 501,808 votes thus far to lead at designated hitter ahead of two-time All-Star Nelson Cruz (484,186) of the Baltimore Orioles. Ortiz, the fan-elected starting designated hitter in the All-Star Game in each of the last three years, is bidding for his eighth career fan-elected start, including his sixth at designated hitter. The Red Sox have had at least one fan-elected starter in 12 of the last 13 seasons, with 2010 being the lone exception. Ortiz, who is batting .270 with 12 home runs and 29 RBI, is the only player in the Majors with at least 10 home runs in all 15 seasons from 2000-2014. In addition, the 38-year-old is the oldest player with 12 home runs this early in a season (through 50 games) since Barry Bonds in 2007, and is the first A.L. player to accomplish the feat since 2003.

Rounding out the A.L. squad is Orioles catcher Matt Wieters, who has garnered 540,258 votes as he vies for his third career Midsummer Classic selection (2011-12) and first career starting assignment. Wieters, who is batting .308 with five home runs and 18 RBI, would join Terry Kennedy (1987) as the only catchers in Orioles history to earn a fan-elected start. He is followed by seven-time All-Star and 2011 N.L. starter Brian McCann (373,169) of the Yankees.

MLB's All-Star Balloting Program is the largest of its kind in professional sports. The last two years represent the two highest totals in balloting history, including a record 40.2 million ballots cast in 2012. More than 20 million Firestone All-Star ballots will be distributed at MLB's 30 ballparks, each of which will have 23 dates for balloting.

In addition, fans around the world can cast their votes for starters 25 times exclusively at MLB.com and all 30 Club web sites - online or via their mobile devices - with the 2014 All-Star Game MLB.com Ballot Sponsored by Experian. The All-Star Game MLB.com Ballot Sponsored by Experian is available in English and Spanish, and offers audio CAPTCHA functionality for visually-impaired fans. Banco BHD sponsors online All-Star balloting in the Dominican Republic, making Spanish-language ballots available to fans in the Dominican Republic via LasMayores.com, the official Spanish-language Web site of Major League Baseball.

Every Major League Club began its in-stadium balloting no later than May 12th. When the in-stadium phase of balloting concludes no later than June 26th, fans will have the opportunity to cast their ballots exclusively online at MLB.com, the 30 Club Web sites and their mobile devices until Thursday, July 3rd at 11:59 p.m. (EDT).

Firestone, the official tire of MLB, is once again the exclusive sponsor of the 2014 In-Stadium All-Star Balloting Program. The ballot features an All-Star sweepstakes, in which a winner will be rewarded with a trip for two to MLB All-Star Week, including airfare, hotel accommodations, tickets to the All-Star Game and other MLB All-Star Week events, and VIP on-field access to watch batting practice before the All-Star Game with an MLB legend.

For the sixth consecutive year, the ballot features the Home Run Derby Fan Poll. Fans have the opportunity to select three players in each League who they would most like to see participate in the Home Run Derby. The Fan Poll is also available online at MLB.com. The 2014 Home Run Derby, part of Gatorade All-Star Workout Day, will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Radio in the United States beginning at 8:00 p.m. (ET)/7:00 p.m. (CT) on Monday, July 14th. The 10 American League candidates are Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays; Carlos Beltran of the New York Yankees; Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers; Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners; 2013 Home Run Derby Champion Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland Athletics; Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles; Prince Fielder of the Texas Rangers; All-Star Ambassador Joe Mauer of the Twins; David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox; and Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The 10 National League candidates are Pedro Alvarez of the Pittsburgh Pirates; Jay Bruce of the Cincinnati Reds; Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks; Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals; Jason Heyward of the Atlanta Braves; Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants; Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers; Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins; Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies; and David Wright of the New York Mets.

The 2014 American League and National League All-Star Teams will be unveiled on the 2014 MLB All-Star Game Selection Show during the weekend of July 5th-6th, with further details to follow.   The A.L. All-Star Team will have nine elected starters via the fan balloting program, while the N.L. All-Star Team will have eight fan-elected starters. The pitchers and reserves for both squads - totaling 25 for the N.L. and 24 for the A.L. - will be determined through a combination of "Player Ballot" choices and selections made by the two All-Star managers - N.L. skipper Mike Matheny of the St. Louis Cardinals and A.L. manager John Farrell of the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.

Immediately following the announcement of the American League and National League All-Star rosters, fans will begin voting to select the final player for each League's 34-man roster via the 2014 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Experian. Fans will cast their votes from a list of five players from each League over the balloting period. Now in its 13th season with more than 430 million votes cast, fans again will be able to make their Final Vote selections on MLB.com, Club sites and their mobile phones.

This year's final phase of All-Star Game voting again will have fans participating in the official voting for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. During the Midsummer Classic, fans will vote exclusively online at MLB.com and the 30 Club sites via the 2014 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote Sponsored by Pepsi, and their collective voice will represent 20 percent of the official vote determining this year's recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy.

The 2014 All-Star Game will be played at Target Field on Tuesday, July 15th. The 85th All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 200 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network, MLB.com and Sirius XM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.