Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon

Sox doing their part to get Uehara on All-Star squad

Looking to win Final Vote, Boston closer trailing Delabar, Robertson

By Jacob Thorpe

SEATTLE -- So comprehensive is the Red Sox's push to make Koji Uehara the final American League representative in the MLB All-Star Game, even manager John Farrell is getting involved.

"I've been online a few times," Farrell said when asked if he'd voted for his closer.

His manager's efforts weren't enough to stave off a rival, however, as the Yankees' David Robertson leapfrogged Uehara into second place in the latest round of results announced Tuesday morning. Another AL East contestant, Steve Delabar from Toronto, leads the pack by about 18,000 votes.

Not content to let their manager handle the voting duties by himself, players have taken to Twitter in support of their teammate.

 

Starting pitcher Jon Lester has been retweeting fans who pledge to vote for Uehara, and players such as Mike Napoli and Andrew Bailey have been urging fans to vote using the #HighFiveCiti hashtag, a reference to the reliever's famous penchant for giving high-powered high fives.

 

Now in its 12th year, the 2013 All-Star Game Final Vote sponsored by freecreditscore.com gives baseball fans around the world the opportunity to select the final player on each All-Star team. Balloting began immediately following Saturday's Major League All-Star Selection Show presented by Taco Bell and ends Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. The winners will be announced on MLB.com shortly thereafter.

 

There will be an extra treat for fans who participate in the Final Vote online. If you are not a current MLB.TV subscriber (MLB.TV or MLB.TV Premium), you are eligible to receive a 14-day free trial of MLB.TV from July 12-26. If you are a current MLB.TV subscriber (MLB.TV or MLB.TV Premium), you will receive a 15-percent discount to the MLB.com Shop. MLB.com will send an email on July 12 to all Final Vote voters with instructions on how to redeem the applicable offer.

Mobile voting in the U.S. and Canada is open to everyone. In the U.S., to receive the 2013 All-Star Game Final Vote sponsored by freecreditscore.com mobile ballot, text the word "VOTE" to 89269. To vote for Uehara, simply text message A5 to 89269. In Canada, fans should text A5 to 101010. Standard message and data rates may apply. To vote for another player via text message, use the codes below.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

A1 - Joaquin Benoit, Detroit
A2 - Steve Delabar, Toronto
A3 - David Robertson, New York Yankees
A4 - Tanner Scheppers, Texas
A5 - Koji Uehara, Boston

NATIONAL LEAGUE

N1 - Ian Desmond, Washington
N2 - Freddie Freeman, Atlanta
N3 - Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles
N4 - Hunter Pence, San Francisco
N5 - Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles

For the second consecutive year, the 2013 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by freecreditscore.com (#FinalVote) will include a social balloting element as Twitter support from the candidates' fans over the last six hours of balloting will count toward their final vote totals. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, July 11, any tweet that includes a designated player hashtag will be tabulated as part of the overall vote total used to determine the American League and National League winners. Fans may follow @MLB on the popular social networking service for the latest standings updates in advance of the 4 p.m. ET balloting deadline.

Jacob Thorpe is an associate reporter for MLB.com.
Read More: Boston Red Sox, Koji Uehara