Keep Posey in lead before All-Star voting ends
Giants catcher ahead of Molina, with balloting over Thursday; Aoki, fourth in OF, needs boost
SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants catcher Buster Posey is one step away from gaining his third All-Star selection overall and his second as a National League starter on the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot.
In the latest and last NL All-Star voting update announced Monday, Posey, who was elected to start in 2012, garnered 7,990,423 votes, second in the league behind Bryce Harper. The Washington outfielder amassed 11,363,949 votes. More to the point, Posey leads St. Louis' Yadier Molina in the balloting at their position. Molina, vying for his fifth career fan election, had 6,278,553 votes.
• All-Star starters to be revealed Sunday night
Posey strengthened his case in June. Through Monday's scheduled off-day for San Francisco, which begins a three-game series at Miami on Tuesday, he ranked second in the Majors for the month with 26 RBIs.
Should fans elect Posey as the starter, he'd become the seventh Giants player since 1970 to collect multiple fan elections, joining Barry Bonds (12), Will Clark (four), Matt Williams (three), Jeff Kent (two), Hall of Famer Willie Mays (two) and Kevin Mitchell (two).
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 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 text VOTA for a ballot in Spanish. Message and data rates may apply. Up to five messages. No purchase required. Reply STOP to cancel. Reply HELP for info.
The 2015 All-Star starters will be unveiled on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. PT on the Esurance All-Star Starters election Show on ESPN. Then on Monday at 4 p.m. PT, the All-Star reserves, pitchers and Final Vote candidates will be announced on the Esurance All-Star Selection Show on ESPN, immediately after which fans can return to MLB.com to begin casting their 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Votes for the final player for each league's All-Star roster. Final Vote ends Friday, July 10, at 1 p.m. PT. 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.
Election prospects remained strong for left fielder Nori Aoki, who was a close fourth in the voting for outfielders behind St. Louis' Matt Holliday. Aoki had 5,115,422 votes, compared to Holliday's 5,454,953. The top three vote-getters will earn starting positions.
The Giants' middle infielders appeared stuck in the voting mud. Brandon Crawford remained second among shortstops with 4,267,238 votes, but was far behind St. Louis' Jhonny Peralta, the front-runner with 7,151,624 votes.
Joe Panik was fourth among second basemen with 2,887,397 votes, a nice showing for a player in his first full Major League season. Nevertheless, Panik found himself well behind Miami's Dee Gordon (6,316,113).