Despite a last big push, Kevin Youkilis will not be grabbing a flight to Anaheim on Monday.
MLB.com has announced the winners of the All-Star Game Final Vote and Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher beat out the Sox first baseman for the final spot on the team.
The vote was the closest in the history with Youkilis and Swisher gathering 9.8 million votes collectively. Youkilis' loss marked the first time a Red Sox player did not win the final vote when one was eligible. Hideki Okijima (2007), Jason Varitek (2003), and Johnny Damon (2002) were the previous Red Sox players to win the vote.
Statistically, Youkilis deserved the honor with a batting average (.297), homerun total (17), and RBI total (55) all higher than Swisher. But considering he is still nursing a small ankle injury the extra time off will probably be favorable.
Reds first baseman Joey Votto won the NL vote in a landslide gathering a whopping 13.7 million votes.
