The Boston Red Sox have struggled to win games recently, but that doesn’t mean their star player has become any less popular.
Major League Baseball released its first update of the fans’ American League All-Star voting Tuesday, and Red Sox slugger David Ortiz topped the list at designated hitter with 501,808 votes. Baltimore Orioles DH Nelson Cruz wasn’t far behind, though, garnering 484,186 votes.
Ortiz, a nine-time All-Star, is a staple at the Midsummer Classic and almost always is a leading vote-getter among designated hitters. Ortiz received over 6 million All-Star votes last season, almost 4 million more than the second-highest vote-getter, Toronto Blue Jays DH Edwin Encarnacion.
Two other Red Sox players cracked the AL All-Star voting list. Dustin Pedroia ranked third among second basemen with 343,321 votes, behind Detroit’s Ian Kinsler (356,244) and Seattle’s Robinson Cano (350,29). A.J. Pierzynski was fourth among catchers with 188,288 votes, behind Baltimore’s Matt Wieters (540,258), the New York Yankees’ Brian McCann (373,169) and Oakland’s Derek Norris (215,110).
Fans can vote for their favorite players on the MLB.com website until 11:59 p.m. on July 3. This year’s All-Star Game will be held July 15 at Target Field in Minnesota.
