Fans cast 2.9 million ballots on MLB.com yesterday; highest one-day total since 2008 sets stage for dramatic finish

Baseball fans continued to vote in record fashion on MLB.com and tightened the closest races for the 17 starting positions in the 83rd All-Star Game by casting more than 2.9 million ballots yesterday, the second-highest one-day total in All-Star Game MLB.com Ballot history. The fan turnout - which was the highest single-day total since the final day of balloting in 2008 - has left many races up for grabs as online voting at MLB.com and the 30 Club websites entered its final 36 hours. The 2012 All-Star Game MLB.com Ballot closes on Thursday, June 28, at 11:59 p.m. (EDT).

A pair of San Francisco Giants teammates was among the beneficiaries from yesterday's voting. Melky Cabrera trailed Ryan Braun for the third spot in the National League outfield by slightly more than 100,000 votes at the last official update, but received more than twice as many online votes as Braun during the past 24 hours. Cabrera's teammate, Pablo Sandoval, is vying to catch David Wright to start at third base for the National League, but after falling behind by 400,000 votes as of the last update, he garnered nearly 300% more online votes than Wright yesterday.

The American League features its own tight races as Robinson Cano and Ian Kinsler find themselves deadlocked in the campaign to start at second base. As of the last update, Cano passed Kinsler for the lead, but led by fewer than 100,000 votes. Adrian Beltre and Miguel Cabrera vie for the nod at third base, while Michael Young looks to catch David Ortiz at designated hitter. The third spot in the American League starting outfield also is still up for grabs, as just over 100,000 votes separated Jose Bautista, Nelson Cruz and Adam Jones.

Final results of all 17 races will be unveiled on Sunday, July 1, when the American League and National League All-Star teams will be announced live on the 2012 MLB All-Star Game Selection Show presented by Taco Bell on TBS. MLB.com will feature complete All-Star team coverage with high-quality video and analysis of both rosters.

The 2012 All-Star Game will be played at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday, July 10th.  The 83rd 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.  Pregame ceremonies will begin at 7:30 p.m. (EDT)/6:30 p.m. (CDT).  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 or royals.com/asg.