Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon

Hosmer Overtakes Cabrera, Morales Surpasses Cruz in Latest AL Voting Update for 86th All-Star Game

Royals Feature Seven Leaders Overall, Including AL Leading Vote-Getter Perez; Altuve, Infante Engage in Close Race at Second Base; 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Ballot Passes 200-Million Vote Mark; Voting Continues Exclusively Online Until Thursday, July 2nd at 11:59 p.m. (ET)

Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer and designated hitter Kendrys Morales have taken over as the leading vote-getters at their respective positions in the latest voting update for the 86th All-Star Game, to be played on Tuesday, July 14th at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, it was announced today. The 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Ballot, which is available exclusively online for the first time via MLB.com, Club sites and mobile devices, has surpassed the 200-million vote mark with more than three weeks to go before the ballot closes on Thursday, July 2nd at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The latest National League voting update will be announced tomorrow afternoon.

Hosmer, bidding for his first career All-Star appearance, has received 3,551,005 votes while surpassing Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera (2,933,108), who has earned fan elections in each of the last two seasons. Hosmer is aiming to become the first Royals first baseman to win a fan election. The 25-year-old is tied for eighth in the NL with 13 doubles. In addition, the two-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner has added seven home runs, two triples, 34 RBI, 31 runs scored and a .376 on-base percentage. Cabrera is attempting to become the fourth Tiger to earn three fan elections, joining Lou Whitaker (1984-86), Lance Parrish (1984-86) and Ivan Rodriguez (2004, 2006-07). In addition, he would join Whitaker and Parrish as the only Tigers to accomplish the feat in consecutive seasons. Overall, the 32-year-old leads the AL with a .427 on-base percentage, while batting .320 on the season with 12 home runs, 11 doubles, a triple, 38 RBI and 31 runs scored. 

Morales, also seeking his first career All-Star selection, has totaled 3,269,634 votes as he attempts to become the first Royals designated hitter to earn a fan election. In his first season with Kansas City, the 31-year-old native of Cuba has proven to be a clutch player for his new team, leading the AL with a .392 batting average with two outs and fourth with a .386 average with runners in scoring position. In addition, Morales is second in the Majors with 29 two-out hits and tied for second with 21 two-out RBI. Overall, Kendrys is hitting .293 on the season with six home runs, 18 doubles (T-1st in AL), 39 RBI (T-4th in AL) and 32 runs scored. Seattle Mariners slugger Nelson Cruz follows close behind Morales with 3,128,121 tallies as he tries for his fourth Midsummer Classic selection and second consecutive starting assignment. Cruz is batting .329 on the season with seven doubles, 39 RBI, 33 runs scored and an AL-best 18 home runs and .613 slugging percentage.

Up the middle of the AL infield, Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros (2,809,731) is trying to hold off Kansas City's Omar Infante (2,650,416) at second base, while Alcides Escobar of the Royals (3,928,985) continues to lead at shortstop and ranks fourth overall in the AL. Altuve is aiming for his third career Midsummer Classic selection (2012, 2014), and he is trying to become just the seventh player (10th time overall) in Astros history to earn a fan-elected start, and the first to do so since Houston moved to the AL for the 2013 season. He would join Craig Biggio (1995-98) and Jeff Kent (2004) as Houston second basemen to earn a fan election, while the other Astros fan-elected starters include first basemen Lee May (1972), Jeff Bagwell (1997) and Lance Berkman (2008), and outfielder Cesar Cedeno (1973). The 25-year-old Altuve is batting .296 on the season with five home runs, 10 doubles, 27 RBI, 26 runs scored and 17 stolen bases, which is the most in the AL. Since his debut in 2011, Altuve leads the Majors with a .351 batting average against left-handed pitching. With 699 career hits in 571 games played, he is due to become the first player in Astros history with 700 hits within his first 600 career games. Infante, a 2010 NL All-Star, is aiming to become the second Kansas City second baseman to win a fan election, joining Frank White (1979).

Escobar is trying for his first career All-Star appearance, and he would join Fred Patek (1978) as the only Royals shortstops to earn a fan-elected start. The 28-year-old native of La Sabana, Venezuela is hitting .269 on the season with two home runs, nine doubles, a triple, 18 RBI, four stolen bases and 25 runs scored. His 18 RBI out of the leadoff spot rank fifth in the AL. Escobar, who appeared in all 162 contests in 2014, ranks second in the Majors with 520 games at shortstop since the start of the 2012 season, trailing only Alexei Ramirez of the White Sox (528). Escobar is followed at shortstop by Jose Iglesias of the Tigers (1,819,764), who is also attempting to make his first All-Star team. Escobar and Infante are aiming to become the fifth pair of teammates (seventh time) to earn starting assignments up the middle of the infield, joining New York's Willie Randolph and Bucky Dent (1981); Baltimore's Roberto Alomar and Cal Ripken Jr. (1996); Baltimore's Brian Roberts and Miguel Tejada (2005); and New York's Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter (2010-12).

Royals catcher Salvador Perez remains the AL leading vote-getter with 4,419,620 total votes received as he strives for his first career starting assignment in the All-Star Game after making the AL squad as a reserve in each of the last two seasons. The Valencia, Venezuela native would join Darrell Porter (1979) as the only Royals catchers to earn a fan-elected start. Since fan voting was returned to fans in 1970, the only catchers to lead the AL in All-Star balloting were Carlton Fisk of the Chicago White Sox (1982), Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers (2000) and Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins (2010). In addition, the only Royals to pace the league in voting were Hall of Famer George Brett (1981 and 1984) and Bo Jackson (1989). Perez leads AL backstops with 52 hits on the season, he is tied for second with nine doubles and ranks third with 27 RBI. In addition, the 25-year-old is hitting .277 on the season with eight home runs and 16 runs scored. Perez is followed behind the plate by Oakland Athletics catcher Stephen Vogt (2,198,780), who is trying for his first career All-Star selection.

Perez continues to be followed by two of his Royals teammates - Lorenzo Cain, who leads AL outfielders and ranks second in the league overall with 4,211,472 votes, and Mike Moustakas, who paces third basemen and ranks third in the AL overall with 4,046,726 tallies. Cain, the 2014 AL Championship Series Most Valuable Player, is attempting to make his first trip to the Midsummer Classic. He would join Amos Otis (1973), Jackson (1989) and Jermaine Dye (2000) as the only Royals outfielders to land a fan-elected starting assignment. The 29-year-old Cain is hitting .283 on the season with four home runs, 10 doubles, a triple, 23 RBI, nine stolen bases and 37 runs scored. In addition, he has recorded 24 two-out hits, which is tied for fifth in the AL, and his .375 batting average with two outs is third in the league. Moustakas, who is bidding for his first All-Star selection, ranks fifth in the AL in batting average (.318), 10th in hits (63) and tied for 10th in multi-hit games (19). The 26-year-old has added five home runs, 12 doubles, a triple, 18 RBI and 29 runs scored this season. Moustakas and Escobar could become the seventh pair of teammates to earn starts on the left side of the AL infield, and the first since Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees in 2011. Moustakas, the second overall selection in the 2007 MLB Draft, is trailed by 2014 AL All-Star Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays (2,329,742). 

Rounding out the AL outfield leaders are Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels and Cain's Kansas City teammate, Alex Gordon. Trout, the reigning AL Most Valuable Player, has received 3,668,577 total votes, which ranks fifth overall in the league. The 23-year-old is trying for his fourth consecutive All-Star appearance and third consecutive start after claiming the Ted Williams All-Star Game MVP at Target Field in Minnesota last summer. Trout would join Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson (1982-84) and Rod Carew (1979-84) as well as Vladimir Guerrero (2005-07) as the only Angels to earn at least three consecutive fan-elected starts. The 2012 AL Rookie of the Year is hitting .283 on the season with 16 home runs, 11 doubles, 33 RBI, eight stolen bases and 42 runs scored, which ranks third in the AL. The New Jersey native has scored 395 runs since the start of the 2012 campaign, 51 more than any other Major Leaguer (Cabrera, 344). Gordon, bidding for his third consecutive All-Star selection and first fan-elected start, has received 3,393,134 votes. Gordon is hitting .251 on the season with six home runs, 12 doubles, 25 RBI and 21 runs scored. The four-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner leads all Major League players with 65 assists since becoming a full-time outfielder in 2011. He has recorded 169 doubles since the start of the 2011 season, which is fourth-most in the Majors during that span. Cain and Gordon could become the first pair of teammates to earn starts in the AL outfield since Boston's Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez in 2005. Gordon is trailed for third among AL outfielders by his teammate and two-time All-Star Alex Rios (2,311,122). Four-time All-Star Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles (1,995,897), who has earned a starting assignment in each of the last two seasons, ranks fifth among AL outfielders, followed by 2014 AL All-Star Michael Brantley of the Cleveland Indians (1,466,472).

With seven players among the voting leaders, the defending AL Champion Royals could become the first team to have more than five players elected to the Midsummer Classic by the fans. Since voting was returned to the fans in 1970, only the 1976 "Big Red Machine" Cincinnati Reds (Johnny Bench, Dave Concepcion, George Foster, Joe Morgan, Pete Rose) had five players earn starting bids in the Midsummer Classic. In AL history, there have been nine teams to have four players win starting assignments, including the 1975 Oakland Athletics, 1981 New York Yankees, 1982 California Angels, 1987 Yankees, 1999 Cleveland Indians, 2001 Seattle Mariners, 2005 Boston Red Sox, 2008 Red Sox and 2011 Yankees.

The Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot, the largest program of its kind in professional sports, for the first time, is being conducted exclusively online. Last year's program saw more than 300 million votes cast for elected starters. Fans around the world can cast their votes for starters 35 times exclusively at MLB.com and all 30 Club web sites - online or via their mobile devices - with the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot. During the voting period, which ends on July 2nd at 11:59 p.m. (ET), the Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot will be available in English and Spanish, and will offer audio CAPTCHA functionality for visually-impaired fans. Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese versions of the online ballot are also available. Banco BHD sponsors online All-Star balloting in the Dominican Republic, making Spanish-language ballots available to fans in the Dominican Republic via LasMayores.com, the official Spanish-language Web site of Major League Baseball.

Details regarding the unveiling of the 2015 American League and National League All-Star Teams will be available in the coming weeks. The AL All-Star Team will have nine elected starters via the fan balloting program, while the NL All-Star Team will have eight fan-elected starters. The pitchers and reserves for both squads - totaling 25 for the NL and 24 for the AL - will be determined through a combination of "Player Ballot" choices and selections made by the two All-Star managers - NL skipper Bruce Bochy of the defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants and AL manager Ned Yost of the Kansas City Royals.

Following the announcement of the American League and National League All-Star rosters, fans will begin voting to select the final player for each League's 34-man roster via the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote. Fans will cast their votes from a list of five players from each League over the balloting period. Now in its 14th season with more than 480 million votes cast, fans again will be able to make their Final Vote selections on MLB.com, Club sites and their mobile phones.

This year's final phase of All-Star Game voting again will have fans participating in the official voting for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. During the Midsummer Classic, fans can vote exclusively at MLB.com and the 30 Club sites - online or via their mobile devices - with the 2015 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote, and their collective voice will represent 20 percent of the official vote determining this year's recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy. 

The 2015 All-Star Game will be played at Great American Ball Park on Tuesday, July 14th. The 86th All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries. 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.