Dozier finishes second in Final Vote
MINNEAPOLIS -- Second baseman Brian Dozier made a late charge in the Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote on Friday, but ultimately finished second to Kansas City's Mike Moustakas, who tallied 19.3 million votes.
Moustakas and Dozier were followed by Detroit's Yoenis Cespedes and Boston's Xander Bogaerts in the balloting. The #VoteDozier campaign created by the Twins saw him register the second-most votes via Twitter on Friday behind only the Royals' #VoteMoose campaign. The balloting concluded on Friday at 3 p.m. CT.
"I wouldn't say it's disappointing," Dozier said. "I feel blessed and honored to make it this far. It is what it is with the voting and all that stuff. But it was really good to see all the support not just in the Twin Cities and Minnesota but all over the country. The Twins did an amazing job of campaigning, and a big thanks to all the fans for voting."
:: All-Star Game on FOX: Tuesday, Coverage begins 7 ET ::
Dozier entered Friday leading the American League with 47 extra-base hits and tied with Toronto's Josh Donaldson for the AL lead in runs scored, with 65. He's hitting .257/.330/.513 with 18 homers, 26 doubles, three triples, 45 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 85 games. He hit a walk-off homer against the Orioles on Monday and also connected on a go-ahead two-run blast on Wednesday. But barring an injury to a current All-Star, closer Glen Perkins will be Minnesota's lone representative in the Midsummer Classic in Cincinnati on July 14.
Dozier, though, took the second-place finish in stride and said it was fun to see all the fans voting via the #VoteDozier hashtag on Friday.
"There was a lot of creative and funny things coming through my feed," he said. "When I woke up at 8 o'clock to when I checked Twitter when it ended, it was constantly one tweet after another. So it just shows you the support we get as players with the Twins. It's just amazing."
Dozier's push was helped by several athletes posting videos in support of his candidacy, including former NFL star Brett Favre, the Minnesota Wild's Zach Parise and Ryan Carter, the Minnesota Vikings' Chad Greenway and the Minnesota Lynx's Maya Moore.
The Twins also created the "No Bull, #VoteDozier" slogan, with a bulldozer parked outside Target Field. Twins players wore white T-shirts with that slogan during batting practice on Tuesday, and right-hander Trevor May served as his unofficial campaign manager.
"Everyone in that clubhouse did a great job," Dozier said. "Even today, with everyone trying to get as many retweets as possible. It's a little crazy that's how the voting process is, but we had fun with it."
During the All-Star Game presented by T-Mobile in Cincinnati on Tuesday, July 14, fans can once again visit MLB.com to submit their choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. Voting exclusively at MLB.com, online and via their mobile devices in the 2015 All-Star Game MVP Vote presented by Chevrolet, the fans' collective voice will represent 20 percent of the overall vote that determines the recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy.
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