Trout leads AL outfielders in All-Star vote
ANAHEIM -- Angels star Mike Trout jumped into the lead among American League outfielders in fan votes when the penultimate All-Star Game ballot update was revealed Monday.
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Trout had amassed 9,148,142 votes through the end of last week, third-most in the AL and roughly 70,000 more than Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain, the prior leader at his position through most of the voting process.
Trout's Angels teammate, Albert Pujols, remained fifth among first basemen despite batting .341 with 13 homers and four strikeouts in his last 23 games. With 1,375,167 votes, Pujols was nearly 8 million shy of the new leader, Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera, and also ranked behind the Royals' Eric Hosmer, the Rangers' Prince Fielder and the Blue Jays' Justin Smoak, who's batting .248 with five homers and 21 RBIs.
Trout -- batting .304/.386/.581 with 18 homers and 41 RBIs -- is primed to make his fourth All-Star Game appearance in four full seasons in the Majors, while starting his third straight. If the voting ended today, he'd be in the same lineup with Cabrera and seven Royals players -- catcher Salvador Perez, second baseman Omar Infante, third baseman Mike Moustakas, shortstop Alcides Escobar, left fielder Alex Gordon, designated hitter Kendrys Morales and Cain.
"Fans have a way of correcting things by the end of the voting," Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said from Oakland this weekend. "We have seen already markets outside of Kansas City saying, 'Gee, it ought to be my guy and not that guy from Kansas City,' and really significant increases in the number of votes. And that's the sort of engagement we want."
Fans can cast their votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on their computers, tablets and smartphones -- using the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot until Thursday, July 2, at 8:59 p.m. PT. For the first time, voting is exclusively online, where fans may submit up to 35 ballots.
Fans may also receive the ballot by texting VOTE to 89269 (USA) or 101010 (Canada), or by texting VOTA for a ballot in Spanish. Message and data rates may apply. Up to five messages. No purchase required. Reply "stop" to cancel and reply "help" for info.
Following the announcement of the 2015 All-Stars, fans can return to MLB.com and cast their 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote for the final player for each league's All-Star roster. On Tuesday, July 14, watch the 2015 All-Star Game live on FOX, and during the game visit MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet via the 2015 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.
MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage of All-Star Week festivities.
The 86th All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX, 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 national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.