Given their stellar start to the season, the Boston Red Sox have a chance to send a plethora of their players to Washington D.C. for the 89th All Star game.
Voting opens Friday and allows fans to vote up to 35 times, with pitchers and reserves being chosen by the Commissioner’s Office as well as a player ballot.
Boston’s nine representatives are: Right fielder Mookie Betts, designated hitter J.D. Martinez, left fielder Andrew Benintendi, center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., second baseman Dustin Pedroia, catcher Christian Vazquez, first baseman Mitch Moreland, shortstop Xander Bogaerts and third baseman Rafael Devers.
The Sox are going up against some stiff competition, with Martinez and Los Angeles Angels two-way rookie Shohei Ohtani battling it out for the DH spot. Bogaerts — who has spent some time this season on the disabled list — faces a challenge in getting past Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees’ Didi Gregorius.
Betts likely is to get the nod for the July 17 Midsummer Classic, as he leads Major League Baseball in numerous offensive categories.
Of course, there also is the chance of seeing some Sox pitchers on the bump. Craig Kimbrel has a share for second-most saves in the league, while Joe Kelly owns a 1.82 ERA with a 3-0 record as a reliever. Chris Sale also could be considered for the starting nod.
Check out the entire list of MLB players you can vote for beginning Friday.
