BOSTON -- The Red Sox already have six players going to the All-Star Game presented by MasterCard (Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX) and could have a seventh by the end of the week. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia is one of five American League nominees for the Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote.
• Cast your Esurance Final Vote for Pedroia
"That would be pretty legit," said Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. "He's definitely a leader on this team. I think he deserves it. He's such a key and vital player to this team and he's having a great year as well."
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Bradley and Mookie Betts were elected to the AL's starting outfield. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts and designated hitter David Ortiz were also elected starters. Knuckleballer Steven Wright and closer Craig Kimbrel round out the group, though the Red Sox would welcome one more for the long flight to San Diego.
"It would be nice," said Bogaerts. "He's been to a lot of them already, but it would be nice to see him there with us. I don't know if we'd get to play together, but just being around him and having our young guys mixed in with our accomplished veterans would be nice."
• Red Sox sending 6 (4 starters) to All-Star Game
Pedroia is vying for his fifth All-Star selection and is having a bounceback season in which he's been able to avoid injuries for the first time in a few years.
In 81 games, Pedroia has a .308 average with 52 runs scored, 103 hits, 20 doubles, eight homers, 34 RBIs and a .371 on-base percentage. As far as the Red Sox are concerned, those numbers are All-Star worthy.
"He does, for sure," said Bogaerts. "He and Mookie have been the tablesetters for the rest of the lineup. They've been getting on base a lot. It's just a pleasure and definitely an honor to play with him."
Pedroia continues to be a leader on the field and in the clubhouse.
"Well, one, I think he's very deserving to go [regardless of] how that vote turns out," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "He's hit over .300 for the better part of the whole season. He's played a very good defense at second base. In many ways, he's our de facto captain. What he means to us, the way he goes about the game, the way he plays it, he sets an example for all of us. I'm hopeful that he's part of that group in San Diego."
Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler, Rays third baseman Evan Longoria, Astros outfielder George Springer and Blue Jays outfielder Michael Saunders are on the ballot with Pedroia.
Johnny Damon (2002), Jason Varitek (2003) and Hideki Okajima (2007) are previous Red Sox players who got to the All-Star Game via the Final Vote.
Fans can vote for the 2016 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote until 4 p.m. ET on Friday. The winners, as chosen exclusively by online fan voting totals, will be announced during a Final Vote-themed telecast of "MLB Now" featuring commentary from political analyst Jeff Greenfield, live on MLB Network and MLB.com from 4-5 p.m. ET. MLB Network will provide extensive coverage across all of its studio programming during the Final Vote, including interviews with the candidates, frequent updates, heat maps indicating the cities where votes are being cast for each candidate, news on player and club campaigns and a running countdown clock leading up to the announcement.
Baseball fans have cast nearly 600 million online votes for Final Vote candidates since the program's inception in 2002. In addition to MLB.com and the official club websites, fans can use their mobile devices to cast votes at MLB.com/vote or via text message. To receive the ballot, text the word "VOTE" to 89269. To vote for a specific player, fans can text their choice to 89269. EXAMPLE: Text "A3" to vote for AL Player 3 or "N3" to vote for NL Player 3. Message and data rates may apply. Text "STOP" to end and "HELP" for information. Mobile voting in Canada also is available and fans should text their choices to 101010.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Final Vote will include social balloting, as Twitter support for the 10 candidates over the last six hours of balloting will count toward their vote totals. From 10 a.m.-4 p.m. ET on Friday, any tweet that includes a designated player hashtag will be tabulated as part of the official vote total used to determine the winners.
On Tuesday, July 12, watch the 2016 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard 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 2016 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote. The 87th All-Star Game, in San Diego, will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB.com, MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.