Major League Baseball fans (MLB) are voting to see which of their favorite stars will get the last slot for next week's All-Star game, with rookie sensation outfielder Yasiel Puig one of the favorites to make the roster.
More than 17 million online votes have been cast in the past 24 hours alone, according to MLB.com, with Puig currently in second place in the National League (NL) voting, behind Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman and ahead of San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence, Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond, and Dodger teammate first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.
On the American League side, Toronto Blue Jay relief pitcher Steve Delabar leads New York Yankee relief pitcher David Robertson, Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Koji Uehara, Texas Ranger relief pitcher Joaquín Benoit, and Rangers starting pitcher Tanner Schneppers.
Fans can vote at MLB.com, team web sites, and MLB stadiums until 4 p.m. EST Thursday. MLB will also allow fans to vote via Twitter on July 11th between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. EST.
Despite the early lead, Braves players are worried that Freeman may not get a fair shake from voters considering Puig's dominating presence on the airwaves on shows like SportsCenter.
Since making his June 3rd debut, Puig has re-energized the Dodgers and taken the league by storm, batting .407 (50-for-123) with eight home runs and 19 RBIs in 31 games, becoming the first player to earn the NL Rookie of the Month and Player of the Month awards.
"[Puig's] been getting covered since he broke in. And he should be getting covered; he's an exciting story," said Braves second baseman Dan Uggla. "But should he make the All-Star team? No, not this year. But he's going to make it. Which sucks for Freddie and other (Final Vote) guys, because they've been doing it the whole year."
Considering the Braves' place atop the NL East standings and the stakes in play for the winning side of the All-Star game, Braves pitcher Tim Hudson questions the whole voting procedure, noting that fans vote with their hearts and not according to who merits making All-Star rosters.
"I mean, it's pretty obvious what players certain media outlets want to have plugged in. It's pretty obvious," said Hudson. "It's not fair. The whole fan vote thing, I think is obnoxious. I mean, the starting players in the All-Star game are determined by fans who can plug any players they want in there, and it determines home-field advantage for the World Series. The World Series! It's not fair. At all."
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