2014 All-Star Game Starters Announced

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista, Major League Baseball's leading vote-getter for the second time in four seasons (also 2011), and Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who led the National League in voting, will be among the starters in the 85^th All-Star Game, to be played on Tuesday, July 15^th at Target Field in Minnesota. The 2014 American League and National League All-Star Teams were unveiled earlier this evening during the "Taco Bell™ All-Star Selection Show" on ESPN.

Bautista, who finished with 5,859,019 votes, earns his fourth consecutive fan election and fifth All-Star selection overall. He is the 10^th different A.L. outfielder in history to earn four straight fan elections, joining Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson (four from 1972-75 and five from 1980-84); Dave Winfield (six from 1983-88); Rickey Henderson (four from 1985-88); and Kirby Puckett (four from 1992-95); as well as Ken Griffey, Jr. (10 from 1990-99); Manny Ramirez (eight from 1999-2006); Vladimir Guerrero (four from 2004-07); Ichiro Suzuki (four from 2001-04 and five from 2006-10); and Josh Hamilton (five from 2008-12). The Dominican Republic native, who also finished as the overall online vote leader, is the second player in Blue Jays franchise history to earn four fan-elected starts, joining Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar (1991-94). Bautista, the captain of the A.L. squad at the 2014 Gillette Home Run Derby, has reached base safely in 77 of his 82 starts this season entering play on Sunday. He leads the A.L. with a .423 on-base percentage and 60 walks, is seventh with 56 runs scored, eighth with a .529 slugging percentage and tied for 10^th with 17 home runs.

Tulowitzki, now an All-Star for the fourth time in his career, totaled 5,349,456 votes, which was the third-highest total in the Majors. After also earning the fan election in 2013, he becomes the first N.L. shortstop to receive back-to-back starting assignments since Hanley Ramirez (2008-10). In addition, Tulowitzki is just the third player in Rockies history to earn multiple fan elections, joining Larry Walker (1997-99) and former teammate Todd Helton (2001-03). Tulowitzki, who will serve as the N.L. captain during the 2014 Gillette Home Run Derby, entered Sunday leading the Majors with a .350 batting average, .441 on-base percentage and 66 runs scored. In addition, he was second in the Majors with a .608 slugging percentage, second in the N.L. with 18 home runs, fourth with 172 total bases, fifth with a .343 batting average with runners in scoring position, tied for sixth with 29 multi-hit games and tied for eighth with 99 hits.

Tulowitzki's A.L. counterpart will be New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who has now been elected to start by the fans nine times. Jeter, now a 14-time All-Star overall, garnered 3,928,422 votes to become the seventh player in A.L. history to earn at least nine fan elections, joining Hall of Famers Cal Ripken, Jr. (17 with Baltimore), George Brett (11 with Kansas City) and Rod Carew (nine with Minnesota); as well as Griffey (10 with Seattle); teammate Suzuki (nine with Seattle); and Ivan Rodriguez (nine with Texas). Jeter, who entered play on Sunday eighth on the all-time hit list with 3,397 hits, is one of three players in Major League history with at least 3,000 hits, 250 home runs and 350 stolen bases, along with Craig Biggio and Hall of Famer Henderson. In his final season, the future Hall of Famer is hitting .266 with 21 RBI and 28 runs scored.  

Bautista is joined in the A.L. outfield by Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles. Trout tallied 5,559,705 votes, good for the second-highest total overall in the Majors, while Jones received 2,817,419 as he pulled ahead of Yoenis Cespedes (2,744,074) of the Oakland Athletics in the final week of balloting. Trout, now a three-time All-Star, earns his second straight fan election to become the fifth player in Angels history to receive consecutive fan-elected starts, joining Hall of Famers Carew (1979-84) and Jackson (1982-84), as well as Fred Lynn (1982-83) and Guerrero (2004-07). In 2013, Trout became the youngest A.L. position player to start a Midsummer Classic since Ivan Rodriguez in 1993. With his third All-Star selection, he becomes just the fourth A.L. outfielder in Major League history to receive three All-Star nods before his 23^rd birthday, joining Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle and Al Kaline, as well as Griffey. For the second consecutive season, Trout has at least 15 home runs and at least 10 stolen bases before the All-Star break, joining his hitting coach Don Baylor (1978-79) as the only Angels to ever accomplish the feat in back-to-back seasons. Entering play today, Trout was batting .362 (51-for-141) over his last 36 games, and he had recorded 41 RBI over his last 46 contests. On the season, he ranks second in the A.L. with 48 extra-base hits, a .401 on-base percentage and a .606 slugging percentage, is third with 189 total bases, tied for third with 51 walks, fifth with five triples and 20 home runs, tied for fifth with 57 runs scored and tied for eighth with a .308 batting average.

Jones, selected to his fourth career Midsummer Classic, receives a starting assignment for the second consecutive season. He becomes the sixth player in Orioles history to earn multiple fan elections, joining Hall of Famers Frank Robinson (1970-71), Brooks Robinson (1971-74), Ripken (1984-87; 1989-2001) and Alomar (1996-98), as well as Boog Powell (1970-71). Jones is also the first O's outfielder to garner consecutive fan elections since Frank Robinson and the first Orioles outfielder to make at least three consecutive All-Star squads since Robinson (1969-72). Jones, who hit .348 (39-for-112) with nine homers and 20 RBI in June, is batting .469 (15-for-32) over his nine-game hitting streak entering Sunday. He is second in the A.L. with 110 hits, tied for fifth with 32 multi-hit games and 180 total bases and seventh with a .309 batting average.

A trio of first-time starters fills the N.L. outfield, including reigning league Most Valuable Player Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who led the way with 4,519,440 votes. He is followed by Carlos Gomez (4,068,745) of the Milwaukee Brewers and Yasiel Puig (4,059,746) of the Los Angeles Dodgers. McCutchen, an All-Star for the fourth time, becomes the first Pirates player to win a fan election since outfielder Jason Bay in 2006. The 27-year-old McCutchen is also just the seventh player in Pirates history to garner a fan election, joining Bay, Barry Bonds (1992-93), Andy Van Slyke (1992-93), Dave Parker (1977-78, 1980-81), and Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente (1972) and Willie Stargell (1971-72). In addition, McCutchen is the first Pittsburgh player to be named an All-Star in four consecutive years since Clemente (1969-72). McCutchen, who has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games entering play on Sunday, led all Major League players with 20 extra-base hits during the month of June, and he was the first Pirates player with 20 extra-base hits in one month since Brian Giles in June 2001. Coming into the day, he ranked first in the N.L. with 56 walks, second with a .423 on-base percentage, third with a .322 batting average, 42 extra-base hits and 175 total bases, tied for third with 104 hits and 26 doubles, fourth with a .542 slugging percentage and a .351 batting average with runners in scoring position, tied for fourth with 53 RBI and tied for sixth with 29 multi-hit games.

Gomez, an All-Star for the second consecutive season, joins teammate Ryan Braun (2008-11) as the only Brewers outfielders in franchise history to land a fan-elected starting assignment. Gomez, who posted a career-best and Milwaukee season-high 18-game hitting streak in June, started play today third in the N.L. with a .358 batting average with runners in scoring position, ninth with a .511 slugging percentage, tied for ninth with 162 total bases and 14 stolen bases and tied for 10^th with 52 runs scored.

Puig, in his second Major League season, gives the Dodgers a fan-elected outfielder in the Midsummer Classic for the fourth time in the last five years, following the elections of Andre Ethier (2010) and Matt Kemp (2011-12). The Cuban native, who is the N.L. starting squad's only first-time All-Star, entered Sunday tied for second in the N.L. with 30 multi-hit games, sixth with 164 total bases, seventh with a .393 on-base percentage and a .516 slugging percentage, and eighth with a .337 batting average with runners in scoring position and a .308 batting average overall. He becomes just the fifth different Cuban player to win a fan election, joining Hall of Famer Tony Perez (1970), Tony Oliva (1971), Bert Campaneris (1973-75) and Jose Canseco (1988-90, 1992, 1999).

Reigning two-time A.L. Most Valuable Player Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers led A.L. first basemen with 4,377,749 votes en route to his eighth All-Star selection and second fan-elected start following his fan election at third base a year ago. The Venezuelan native becomes 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). In addition, the 2012 Triple Crown winner joins former teammate Prince Fielder (2012) as the only fan-elected starting first basemen in Tigers history. Cabrera also becomes the first Tigers position player to be selected to the All-Star Game in five consecutive seasons since Whitaker (1983-87). Over the last eight seasons, eight different A.L. first basemen have won a fan election, including David Ortiz (2007), Kevin Youkilis (2008), Mark Teixeira (2009), Justin Morneau (2010), Adrian Gonzalez (2011), Fielder (2012) and Chris Davis (2013). Entering play today, Cabrera led the A.L. with 32 doubles, ranked second with a .370 batting average with runners in scoring position, third with 46 extra-base hits, fourth with 67 RBI, sixth with a .311 batting average and a .540 slugging percentage, seventh with 174 total bases and ninth with 100 hits.

Joining Cabrera on the right side of the A.L. infield is Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano, who will reunite with his former teammate Jeter up the middle. Cano, in his first season with Seattle, tallied 3,237,735 votes to secure his sixth All-Star selection and fifth consecutive fan election. He joins Hall of Famers Carew (six straight, 1970-75) and Alomar (five straight, 1996-2000) as the only second basemen in A.L. history to earn five straight fan elections. In addition, Cano joins Bret Boone (2001) as the only fan-elected starting second basemen in Mariners history, and he is just the fourth Seattle infielder overall to receive an election from the fans, joining Boone, John Olerud (1B, 2001) and former teammate Alex Rodriguez (SS, 1997-98; 2000). Cano entered play today leading the A.L. with a .373 batting average with runners in scoring position, tied for third with 33 multi-hit games, fourth with a .323 batting average overall, sixth with 104 hits and tied for sixth with a .383 on-base percentage. Since May 9^th, Cano is batting .348 (65-for-187) with 31 runs scored, 14 doubles, five home runs and 32 RBI.

Rounding out the A.L. infield is Oakland Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson, who is the A.L. starting squad's lone first-time All-Star. Donaldson received 3,684,820 votes to give the A's, who entered play today with the best record in the Majors at 54-33 (.621), their first fan-elected starter since first baseman Jason Giambi in 2000. Donaldson becomes the first Oakland third baseman in team history to earn a fan-elected start, and he is the fifth different A.L. third baseman to win a fan election in the last five years, joining Evan Longoria (2010), Rodriguez (2011), Adrian Beltre (2012) and Cabrera (2013). Entering Sunday, Donaldson was third in the A.L. with 58 runs scored, sixth with 62 RBI and is tied for sixth with 19 home runs.

Joining Tulowitzki on the left side of the N.L. infield is Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who garnered 2,318,611 votes to produce his third All-Star selection and first fan-elected starting assignment. Ramirez becomes the first Brewer to win a starting job at the hot corner, and he joins second basemen Don Money (1978), Hall of Famer Paul Molitor (1980, 1988) and teammate Rickie Weeks (2011), as well as Hall of Fame shortstop Robin Yount (1982-83) and first baseman Fielder (2007, 2011) as the only infielders in Brewers history to win an election. The 36-year-old native of the Dominican Republic entered Sunday batting .286 with 11 home runs and 41 RBI on the season. Among N.L. third basemen, he was tied for fourth in home runs and tied for fifth in RBI. 

On the right side of the N.L. infield, Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, now a two-time All-Star and fan-elected starter for the first time, joins veteran second baseman Chase Utley of the Philadelphia Phillies, who makes his sixth trip to the Midsummer Classic, all of which have come via a fan election. Goldschmidt received 3,516,890 votes en route to becoming the first D-backs first baseman, and just the fourth player in franchise history, to earn a fan election. The other three to do so were second baseman Jay Bell (1999), third baseman Matt Williams (1999) and outfielder Luis Gonzalez (2001). Goldschmidt started play today leading the N.L. with 32 doubles and 48 extra-base hits, ranked second with 63 runs scored and 181 total bases, tied for second with 30 multi-hit games, third with 56 RBI and a .544 slugging percentage, tied for third with 50 walks, sixth with 102 hits and a .395 on-base percentage and tied for eighth with 15 home runs.

Utley, who won fan elections in each season from 2006-10, tallied 2,866,529 total votes. His six fan elections trail only Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt (9) for the most in Phillies history. Te only other N.L. second basemen to draw more All-Star starts are Utley's manager Ryne Sandberg (9) and fellow Hall of Famer Joe Morgan (7). Utley began play on Sunday batting .287 on the season with six home runs, 40 RBI, 24 doubles and 46 runs scored. Utley, who picked up his 1,500^th career hit last Sunday against Atlanta, leads all N.L. second basemen in doubles and extra-base hits (33). 

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina received 3,842,434 votes to secure his sixth All-Star selection along with his fourth career and second consecutive fan-elected start. He joins Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith (12) and former teammate Albert Pujols (5) as the only players in Cardinals history to receive at least four fan-elected starting assignments. Molina has thrown out 17 of 34 runners attempting to steal this season for a N.L.-best .500 percentage. At the plate, the Puerto Rican native is batting .294 with seven home runs, 30 RBI, 15 doubles and 30 runs scored. With Molina's election, the Cardinals have now had at least one player elected to start in each of the last six seasons (since 2009), marking the longest active streak in the N.L.

Orioles catcher Matt Wieters and designated hitter Nelson Cruz round out the starting A.L. squad, giving Baltimore a trio of fan-elected starters (along with Jones) for the second consecutive season (Davis, J.J. Hardy and Jones in 2013). It marks the first time since 1997 (Alomar, Ripken and Brady Anderson) and 1998 (Alomar, Ripken) that the O's have had multiple fan-elected starters in back-to-backs seasons. Wieters collected 2,701,310 votes en route to his third All-Star selection and first fan-elected starting assignment. He becomes just the second Orioles backstop in franchise history to win a fan election, joining Terry Kennedy (1987). Wieters, who underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery in June, batted .308 with five home runs and 18 RBI over 26 games played. He will be replaced in the starting lineup by the A.L. catcher elected to the All-Star Team via the Player Ballot. 

Cruz received 3,942,138 votes to secure his third All-Star selection and first career fan-elected starting assignment. He becomes just the fifth different fan-elected starter at designated hitter in history, joining Edgar Martinez (1997, 2001, 2003), Canseco (1999), Ortiz (2005, 2008, 2011-13) and Guerrero (2010). Cruz entered play today tied for first in the Majors with 27 home runs and 70 RBI. His 27 home runs are currently third in Orioles franchise history before the All-Star break, trailing teammate Davis (37 in 2013) and Anderson (30 in 1996). Cruz also ranks second in the A.L. with 191 total bases, and fifth with a .581 slugging percentage and 43 extra-base hits.

With seven different N.L. teams represented among its eight starters (only Milwaukee has two), this marks the eighth time since fan balloting began in 1970 that the N.L. has as many as seven different teams represented among the starting position players. The other years in which it occurred include 1971, 1984, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2010. The N.L. has never had eight different teams represented among the eight positional leaders. With four different teams represented in the A.L. infield, the 85^th All-Star Game will mark the first time since 2003, and the 19^th time overall since fan balloting began in 1970, that the four A.L. fan-elected starting infielders come from four different teams.

There are eight foreign-born players among the 17 fan-elected starters, marking the third consecutive season that at least eight foreign-born players received a fan election. Last year, eight foreign-born players also won fan elections after nine received the honor in 2012.

MLB's All-Star Balloting Program is the largest of its kind in professional sports. More than 20 million Firestone All-Star ballots were distributed at the 30 Major League ballparks, each of which had 25 dates for balloting, and in approximately 100 Minor League ballparks. After the in-stadium phase of balloting concluded on Thursday, June 26^th, fans still had the opportunity to cast their votes for starters exclusively online at MLB.com, the 30 Club Web sites and their mobile devices until Thursday, July 3^rd at 11:59 p.m. (EDT).

Firestone, the official tire of MLB, was once again the exclusive sponsor of the 2014 In-Stadium All-Star Balloting Program. The ballot featured 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. 

The American League All-Star Team has nine elected starters via the fan balloting program, while the National League All-Star Team has eight fan-elected starters. The pitchers and reserves for both squads - totaling 25 for the N.L. and 24 for the A.L. - were determined through a combination of "Player Ballot" choices and selections made by the two All-Star managers - A.L. skipper John Farrell of the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox and N.L. manager Mike Matheny of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Fans can now begin to vote 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 can cast their votes from a list of five players from each League over a five-day period and the winners will be announced after the voting concludes on Thursday, July 10^th. Now in its 13^th 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.

The 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 15^th. The 85^th 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.