Stanton rises on ballot; Dee increases lead
Marlins slugger second among NL outfielders; he, Gordon in line to start All-Star Game
MIAMI -- Marlins slugging right fielder Giancarlo Stanton has moved up to second place among National League outfielders in the latest update of the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot, announced Tuesday.
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Despite leading the NL in home runs and RBIs, Stanton was fourth in the fan voting last week, but Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon, who continues to lead the voting for the starting nod at second, said he had no concerns that Stanton would be unjustly snubbed for a staring spot in the NL outfield.
"He's got a $300 million contract. I think everybody knows he's pretty good already, so I [believed] they were going to get it right," Gordon said prior to Tuesday night's game against the Cardinals at Marlins Park. "I didn't have a doubt in my mind that they wouldn't."
Stanton, who is bidding for his first career All-Star Game start in the outfield, has received 4,824,989 votes. Bryce Harper of the Nationals leads the NL outfielders with 9,224,370 votes. Matt Holliday of the Cardinals is third with 4,716,941, followed by Nori Aoki (4,349,685) of the Giants.
Should Stanton remain among the top three vote-getters among NL outfielders, he and Gordon could become only the third and fourth Marlins players to earn a starting spot in fan voting, joining third baseman Gary Sheffield (1993) and shortstop Hanley Ramirez (2008-10). Stanton enters the three-game series against the Cardinals with 25 homers and 64 RBIs, and he has a .260 batting average and .596 slugging percentage.
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Gordon leads the balloting for the NL's starting second baseman with 5,244,914 votes, more than a million ahead of Kolten Wong (4,025,055), his counterpart at second in this series against the Cardinals. Gordon was named to his first All-Star Game roster last season. He leads MLB with 104 hits and has a .356 batting average entering Tuesday, and he ranks second in stolen bases with 24.
"It would mean a lot," Stanton said of the possibility of earning a starting spot. "We appreciate [the fans'] participation and support."